New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1883-12-30

| worse and more subtle evil was preparing.
My father has put on record ms ieenngs towa u
had an ardent affection for her and unbounded %,
| TEEN. Whatever virtues are IN woman he oeileved
be il h s But The the us Of BIS dSs He
nearly always either writing or meditating In pre-
partition for T. She had and could have but little Of
Vous irrifabity vented itself at every unwelcOme
circumstance in complaints, or taunts, OF hts OK
anger. To harsh words and unjust reproaches his
warmth occasioned her she carefully concealed from
| him. She studious to please hlml ana en-
| deavOred to anticipate every want ana wlsh heI
gentleness and forbearance increased his gratitude
| and devotion to her and whenever he perceived
| that he had wounded her he was full OF remorse.
But the awexisted all the same-that the demands
ofther daily existence would not perInltthe homage
| of his heart to be translated into act'
The mischief was aggravated by the unfortunate
occurrence that my mother being unable 70 s1ckle
her irstbOrn child, it had been nnrsed out OF the
house. Her maternal instinct, thus thwarted IN
its origin, never revived. The care OF Ghareh Mas
ever afterward distasteful to her. Losing, this
company of my father or Of visitors she was alono
in the home and, If her other occupations lled up
Rr time me- they could hot BE not
having had more Of my fathers society, WIN 1eel-
ings unruffled and mind disengaged, was not the
Only result 70 De re- an Intercourse which
might have trained her, III the particulars wherein
she was deficient, to be his companion 10 Inc emu.
more for the redemption of her happiness IMAM LOT
the rescue Of his For from the pang OF disappont-
ed affection wounded feeling men nave at easI,
an escape commonly denied to women, III tneH
capacity to live among abstract ideas but III
nine cases out Of ten the happiness Oh woman
life may even the whole tendency OF he[ nat t rt
depends almost entirely upon the character OF us
personal relations; and, If these are nnsalsIacuoIy'
the injury as well as the suffering they involve are
aggravated by the parrowneSs OF ner interests anu
the extreme personality of all her feeilhgs.
AS il was neither of them saw the Issue 70 wilIc5
the divided life was tending. They entirely agreed
kept them asnnder. Ny father did not work more
for himself than for his wife, and OF tne TWO sue
was the one that cared most for the urrtundlhgS
which imposed on him the lab0rs that were casi-
ing these dark shadows over the sunlight OF ther
love.
Here it was that my grandmothers disploasnre
ut the marriage working toward a ialer iui-
filment of her representations. II deharrcd my
father from the subsidy which would nave ieit
room in his life for the habitual exercise OF hls
affections. It seemed that the evil would now be
remcdicd. Directly my granddaughter was recon
cilcd to him she restored the dropped a..
lowance. Had, it been continued IT misHis
the distance. But the old umbraCe, was rather
suppressed than extinct. and hardly had me arrow
ance been renewed before words were spoken that
drove my father to decline the favor and return the
instalmcnt he had received.
His habits during the residence in Oxfordshire are
thus described:
The room my father had selected for his study
at Woodcot was small one on the gronnn-IG;or,
overlooking the lawn. And here may mention
that, whatever the size OF his house ~ was lhNara
bly, one Of the smallest rooms in It that he apprC;
priated to himself as his literary workshop. Small
enclosures are more easily fortified than large ones
and his study was his CASTLE less inaccessible 10
the world outside it than the mountaln-k keep OF
generally up and about by a.. III. II was his
habit TO walk at all seasons and in all weathcrs,
for nearly an hour before breakfast. From
breakfast till luncheon, at half-past ono or
two oplocI the time devoted 10 COM
position and correspondence Ho was punctual
correspondent; rapid and to ms ieW i9tiinai"
first years of authorship he composed slowly and
Northumberland with great rapidly, rarely
correcting line. He had n taste strongly dcvcl-
oped and largely INDUCED (which, but for his care
full business habits, and an economy amounting
sometimes, in little things, TO Parslmony. might
have proved runOus Ia him for building, furnish.
ing. and decorating This taste was the natural
outcome of his constructive faculty and his passion
for improvement. lie was always lnycnting or de-
yelOping soiuething-his mind and body, by the
fullest cultivation Of all their faculties; his proper
ty and income, by the careful study and bold IN
vestmcnt of all their resources. Nor VAS this de-
sire for improvement confined TO what belonged to
himself 1t extended no less actively 10 all that he
himself BELONGED TO: 1t animated his interest and
guided his action IN relation 70 hiS county, hS
the human world around him.
Herein lies the explanation Of his political views
and opinions. lie ahhOrrcd the politics of destruc
ton and disntegration. The most triiing relics Of
his childhood were tenaciOusly preserved by him,
with a strong sentiment Of conservation. lie altered
and improved much, but rarely destroyed anything;
however useless il might be. He had profound
respect for continuity; and having great aspra-
tOns, but no envy. there was in him nothing Of the
wherever he recognized q rational promise OF
practical improvement. The same tendency Oc-
casiOncd, in early life, his dandyism and love Of
dress. To make the most and best Of his personal
appearance seemed to him no less an obligation Of
self-respect than to make the most and best of his
intellectual powers. his moral capacities. and his
physical faculties lie was frequent ChaSpr OF
houses and properties, which he invariably resold
at a considerable profit on his outlay III improving
them. Had he lived in o howell he would have
cOntrivcd to cmbellish II and there few places
occupied by him for any length Of time on which he
did not leave, in some beantifed feature or added
convenience, the .tamp of his creative fancy.
He was at all times temperate not 10 say abb
stemOus eater and drinkrr; and, although his
taste like that Of his first hero, Pelham, was fas-
tidions his appetite unlike that of his last hero
Kenelm Chillingly, was very small In later life he
had contracted the habit, common TO most students
and solitary men, Of rushing through his meals with
an impatient rapidity which would have shocked
the gastrOnOmc conscience Of Lord GulOsctOn. His
breakfast generally consisted of piece of dry toast
and cup of cold tea, hot tea impaticnty tossed
into tumbler half full of cold water: the remains
Of which he generally carried away with him into
his study--stalking out of the ToOm silent. |
prcoccupicd, in drcssIng-gOwn and slippers
(drcssing-gOwn long and flowing, and slippers the
most slipshOd, with staring eyes like those of n
sleep-walker. His dinner, when he diucd alone,
rarely lasted ten minutes. He was an inccssant
smoker. Whatever the result of his mornings
work, it seldom left in his manner, any perccptible
trace of preoccupatiOn when he had put it
aside. The rest of the afternoon till four O'Clock
was generally employed in exercise social inter
course riding driving, walking visiting.
At the time am speaking of, people dincd early;
and SIX o'clock was, | believe, the customary din
ner hour at WOOdcOt. Literary work was resumed
from four TO six and from ten till twelve or latnr
but these last hours were generally passed in
reading than i'll writing
Bulwer entered Parliament as n reformcr in the
first excitement Of the Reform Bill in 1881. His
career public man belongs TO later period of
the story, but the beginning of Of his principal
political friendships belongs here. He had CORE
spondence ON literary subjects with Isaac Dsraei
and as early as 1929 We fnd him in correspondence