The Portland daily press., 1883-01-10
Posthumous Memoirs.
The Uncomfortable Effect OF Keeping d.
aries.

A little bit of scandal-although nothing
ve,y serious-has been caused by The publca-
ton of the third volume of the ''Life of Bishop
Wilberforce." 1t is thought by some people
that the bishops diary ought not to have been
published Just yet, If at all. He speaks very
freely OF many wel-known men who are still
living and rather alarms the susceptibilities OF
people who maintain that nothing of personal
interest ought to be published until everybody
is dead who was directly concerned in it.
Whatever this theory may be worth, 1t IS GER
tain that "Soapy Sam" expressed his thoughts
in his diary without much regard for the feel
ings of others. 1t is doubtful, perhaps, whesh-
er he ever intended the diary TO be published,
though possible that he may have deliberately
made these entries with much secret enjoy
ment of the thought that he was preparing a
lively entertainment for many of his good
friends after his death. Although SONS parts
OF the diory as published may seem rather
strong, others which have not been published
We're much stronger. Tho editor-one of the
Bishops sons-has kept out a great deal more
sensational" matter than he has put in. The
Times says that there are passages in the new
volume (which, il they do not make dead men
turn in their graves, will at least MAKE living
men very uncomfortable What it would
have said if the whole of the diary had been
published one can only family conjecture. No
doubt 1t will be very unpleasant for Cardinal
Manning TO read this account OF himself
"Manning's appointment protested against by
ali the old Roman families in England, but the
Pope would not listen. Manning most obse qui-
Gus; creeps on hands and knees to kiss his toe,
and even when hidden TO get up, remains pros
trate in ave. This delights Pho Nono." Bish-
op Wilberferce was no admirer of Disraeli,
whom, indeed, he describes as "all over an
Eastern jew" trlckster and q charlatan.
But then Disraeli refused to give the bishop
the preterment to which he deemed himself en-
titled. and looked upon him as man whose
influence in the Church was greater for evil
than for good. 1t is quite possible that when
Disraelis diary-for 1t is known that he kept
one, though not very regularly-is allowed to
see the light, il will be found that he did not
leave the Bishop much in his debt. But there
is not much chance that any of the late Con-
sentative leaders papers will appear In our
time. The fullest discretion was left to his ex-
ecutors, and they, it IS understood, have come
to the conclusion that nothing of any moment
should be published for some years to come
1t is possible, one cannot help thinking, to
push delcacy of feeling in these matters a lit
tie too far. Many papers which would throw
great deal of light on obscure points in con-
temporary history are kept jealousy locked up
because the personages referred to in them are
not yet dead. When they are issued most of
their interest will be found to have evaporated.
Diaries do not always improve with age, This,
perhaps. was the conclusion which led Mr.
Reginald Wilberforce to give to the world SO
large portion of his fathers papers. And he
may have felt that without these relics of the
man himself the attempt to fill three volumes
with al account of his life would necess rily
be failure. No one who reads the work can
doubt that he was right in 80 thinking, for the
purely narrative part is dull and lifeless and
the only pages which will be "devoured" by
the reader are those which are contributed by
the Bishop himself.
Another volume is in the press which will
give something for its critics to talk about-a
selection from the correspondence and papers
of Lord Lyndhurst, to be edited by Sir Tneo-
dore Martin. In this, however, no indiscreet
revelations are likely to be made Lord Lynd-
hurst never kept diary, and his papers were
carefully weeded out by his own hand. Then
there are renewed whispers of a further install
ment of the GIevil.e Memoirs, more calculated
to set people by the ears than even the three
volumes which MIR. Henry Reeve published a
few years ago, and which brought upon him
the displeasure of very high personages. Last
ly, there are some journals being prepared Tor
the press which will be read with great inter-
est Oh both sides of the Atlantic, for they con-
tain anecdotes Of IN ,st of the men who have
been prominent in public life since the begin
ming of this century.