New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1885-10-29
full whether he would have got rid of his refractory

whole, just one. It's always extremely dlincut
to form q correct judgment concerning man so
cold and self-contained as Peel was. lie may De
said to have had no warm friendships. Mccarthy
indeed says that the Duke of Wellington, III speak
ing on his death in the House of Lords, did so with
the tears rolling down his cheeks. Grevllle how
ever is positive that the Duke disliked Peel very
heartily. though he admired his genus and treated
him civlly As the Duke was himself quite as cold
a man as Peel the story of his emotion sounds
apocryphal. 1t is questionable whether ne ever
shed a tear for any one. unless 1t may nave Deeh
Arbuthnot. The immense latent influence evinced
by Peel when he neither i'll office nor likely TO
be is exhibited in quite aremarkable way. Ills I'M
porance was set far above his actual achievements
by the English public, and the general expectation
discounted a future which was not to arrive.
So much space Is taken up by politics IN these
volumes that little is left for literary anecdotes
and social gossip which latter indeed. the Journalist
deliberately eschews unworthy of record though
human nature ia so cOnstitu eel that most cases II
very willingly sacrifices dignity and the higher in
tellcctual plane for the amusement to he derived
from pungent abuse and scandalous tattle Mr. Gre
Vile as rule speaks ckaritably of his friends and
some of his estimates of them written immediate
Nv after their death, arc very generous. The
character of Lady narrowly, for example, and
that of Thomas Granville are the portraits OF
very estimabc people, drawn by a loving hand
That of the writer's cousin, George Bentinck, is
less pleasing but probably quite as faithful.
Following is an interesting example OF the Won
lerful funess and readiness OF Macaulays mlhd.
The scene Is Holland House:
BEFORE dinner some mention was made of the por-
traits of the Speakers in the Sneakers House. and
/ asked how far they went back. Macaulay sald
he was not sure hut certainly as far as Sir Thomas
More Sir Thomas More sad Lady iiolland'
&" | did not know he had been Speaker. Oh,
yes" SAID Macaulav don't you remember when
Cardinal WOlsey came down TO the House OF
ConmOns and More was in the chair = and then he
told tho hole OF that wel-knOwn transaction, and
all More had said. At dinner among variety OF
persons and subject PRINCIPALLY lsYss
sorts of theological talk-we got upon india and
Indian men of eminence. proceeding from 6lelgs
Life of Warren Hastings" which Macaulay SAID
was the worst book that ever was written; and
then the name of Sir Thomas Munro came upper
most. Lady Holland did not know why Sir Thomas
Munro was so distinguishes when Macaulay
explained all that he had ever said, done, written,
or thought and indicated his claim 20 the title OF
great man, till Lady Holland got bored with Sir
Thomas told Macaulay she had had enough OF MN,
and would have more. This would have dashed
and silenccd an ordinary talker but to Macaulay 1t
was no more than replacing II book on ITS shell,
and he was as ready as ever to open on any other
tonic 1t would he impossible TO follow and dc.
scribe the various mazes OF conversation an o.
which he threaded with an ease That was always
astonishing and instructive and generally interest
ing and amusing. When went upstairs we got
upon the Fathers of the Church Al!en asA leu
Macauay if he had read much OF the Fathers. lie
said not a great deal. tie had read ChrysoStoln
when he was in India that is, he had turned over
the leaves and for few months had read nun lot
tw or three hours every morning before breakfast
and he hal read some OF Athanasius, Telncln-
Der a sermon" he said of Chrysostoms in praise OF
the Bishop of Antioch; and then he proceeded 10
rive us the substance OF this sermon till Lazy
Holland got tired of the Fathers, again put her
eAtngusher on ChysSs OF as sno dn a az sOif G
have the pleasure of puZZlng Macaulay, Snc tuInt"
to him and said. Pray, Macaulay, what was the
origin of doll when were dolls first mentioned ~
history ~ Macaulay was however. Just as much
up to the dolls as he was to the tathers' ana
instantly replied that the Roman children had
their dolls which they offered mp To Venus wien
they grew older and quoted Pcrslus for
veuert dOnate a virgne puprg'
and 7 have not the least doubt. if he had been
allowed to proceed. he would have told rs Who WAS
the ChencviX of ancient Rome, and the name OF the
first baby that ever handled a doll.
The conversation then ran upon Milmans History
of Christianity" which Melbourne praised, ne
religious opinions OF Locke, OF MInan himself, the
| opinion of the world thcreupon and so on TO
! Strauss book and his mythical system and what
he meant by mythical. Macaulay began lilustrat-
! ing and explaining the meaning of myth by eN.
anples from remote antiquity when ohSefVG@a
! that order to explain the meaning OF mythlcal
! il was not necessary to go 50 far back that tor
| instance, we might take the case of William
! Hunting ton SIS: that the account Of his lie was
historical but the story of his praying To God for
! n new pair of leather brecches and finding them
under a hedge was mythical. Now had just a
general superficial recollection Of this story in
! Hnntingtons "Lfe.' but my farthing rush-light
| was instantly eXtingushed by the blaze OF
! Macaulay's allgraspiEg and and all-Tetaining
/ memory for he at Dnce came in with the whole
| minute account of this transaction how hunting
! ton had prayed what he had found ana where ana
! all he had said to the tailor by whom this mracu-
! lous neither garment was mace.
There is n very grim and severe notice of the
Marquis Of Hartford, one of the most prof gate
mobiles of this or any age, and the original of
! Thackeray's Marquis of Stcync.' Tho Duke
of Bedford wrote to Greylle: 81 see
Pee's carriage followed Lord Hertford's re-
mains out of London! What is the use OF
character and conduct in this world, if after such
a life. death and will as Lord Hertford's, such a
mark of respect is paid TO his memory by the First
Minister of this great country, and this not the
loose and proalgate Lord Melbonrne' but the go cd
and honest and particular Sir Robert Peel I"
Here is sketch of Sydney Smith
Yesterday we heard of the death of sydney
| Smith which took place on Sunday. His case hao
for some time been hopeless. and it was merely a
! question how long he could he kept alive bv thi
! remedies applied to stop the water on his chest
1t is the extinction OF great luminary, such as W.
shall hardly the like of again, and who has
rcgned without n rival III wit and humOr Tor
great length of time. 1t is almost impossible t.
Dverrate his wit humor and drOcry or their e1ec
in society lnnCmerable cOmical sayings ant
Jokes of his have been current, but their
repetition gives but an imperfect idea OF the flavor
and zest of the original Ilis appearance, voice
and manner added immensely to the effect, and the
bursting and uproarious merriment with which h
poured forth his good things never failed to com
municate itself to his audience who were always
in fits of laughter. If there fault in it. il wal
that it was too amusing People so entirely eX
pected to be made to die of laughing and he wal
so aware of this that there seemed 10 he an,
question of conversation when he of the party
or at least no than Just to afford Sydney peg
to hang his Jokes on. This - the misfortune of al
great profcsscd wits, ana | have very little doub
that Sydney often felt oppressed with the weigh
of his cOmical Obligations, and came the sta e
like a great actor, forced 10 exert himself but no
always in the vein to play his part. 1t is wei
known that he was subject at home to frequent fit
of depression but believe In his own house nth
country he could often be very agreeable com