The Jewish advance. (Chicago, Ill.) 1878-1881, 1881-08-12
The Wit and HumOr of Lord
BeacOnSfield.*

BeacOnSfeld.*
His heartlessly diplomatical removal
of Lady Monmouth through Rigby, his
one sally of Indignation provoked by his
nephew's enthusiasm, by = some wo-
man has got hold of him and made him a
Whig,"' and his verdict on the Reform
Bill, Cd the Reform Bill! IF the
Duke had not quarreled with Lord Grey,
on a coal committee, we should never
have had the Reform Bill complete a
portrait worthy of Juvenal. tbs grim
figure, but we must not deny it almost
it's sole virtue, and that posthumous-
the bequest to his creature Rigby:
Lord Monmouth left to the Right
Honorable Nicholas Rigby the bust of
that gentleman which he had himself
presented to his lordship, and which at
his desire had been placed in the vesti-
bule at Coningsby Castle, from the ami
able motive that, after Lord Monmouth's
decease, Mr.. Rigby might wish perhaps
to present it to some other friend"
1t is relief to turn to Lord St. Aide
gonde, the embodiment of the radical
nobleman. Two quotations shall suffice
for the outlines of this delightful free
churchman, fresh in the recollection of
all readers of Lothair":
"A republican Of the reddest dye,
he was opposed to all privilege, and in
deed to all orders of men except dukes,
who were a necessity. He was also
strongly in favor of the equal division of
all property except land. Liberty de-
pended on land, and the greater the
landowners the greater the liberties of
country He would hold forth on this
topic with energy, amazed at any one
differing from him. AS if fellow could
have too much land, he would urge with
voice and glance which defed contra
diction. -.
The meal was over The bishop was
standing near the mantle-pie talking
to the ladies who were clustered around
him, The archdeacon, and the chaplain.
and some other clergy, little in the
is ssseis Il Lore1 St Alaeeonde. who.
whether there were FIRE or sot, always
stood with bis hands ia his pockets.
moved discourteously among them, then
assumed his usual position and listened
as it were grimly for few moments to
their talk. Then he suddenly exclaimed
in a loud voice with the groan of a rebel
lious Titan, s'How / hate Sunday!'
Granville! exclaimed Lady St. Aide
gonde, turning pale. There was gen
eral shudder. I Imean- a country
house, said Lord St. Aldegonde. of
course mean in country house. I do
not dislike it alone, and I do not dislike
it in London, but Sunday in a country
house is Internal"
We have dilated at some length on
the various aspects of Lord Beacons-
fields humor, for it is to our minds far
the most important feature of his writ
ings, but after all it is for his daring and
dazzling wit that he will universally be
remembered It was, as we have said.
rare quality, and it is also a gift that
lives. Wit has wings. A happy phrase
becomes proverb, and the wittier half of
work. like the favorite melodies of a
composition, survives the whole. The
more will this be likely when the qnome
Is to repeat ourselves intellectually true,
when fancy jumps with fact. This is,
we imagine, the secret of Lord Beacons-
fields wit. 1t may seem paradoxical to
assert to his most popular paradoxes
that they are just, but we do so. He,
like his Sidonia, said many things that
were strange, yet they instantly appear
ed to be true Be this as it may, wit
is certainly the most plentiful element
of his later novels. They are confessed
ly novels of conversation.
I'm life surely" he observes in "Vivian
Grey" man is not always as monstrous-
ly busy as he appears to be in novels and
romances; we are not always in action,
or making war, or making love. Occa-
sionally we talk about the weather, some
times about ourselves, oftener about our
friends, and as often about our enemies.
This conversational treatment is an
element Of their originality. Gradually,
as his political and social career became
more definite and progressive, the humor
In his novels recedes and the witabounds.
The only English prime minister who
has been professed wit, he felt it's eff
ticacy as weapon, used it, and, we may
add, never abused it. Squib, repartee,
epigram, and lampoon, all applied by
him, have yet never been misapplied to
gloze immortality or profane religion.
His very sneer is good -humor, and, if he
was in any sense Diogenes, he was GER
tainly Diogenes who lived out of the
tub.
= Walter Sydney sichel ("Macmillan's Maga-
zine.