The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1886-12-02
which both these great parliamert-

which both these great parliament
arians frequently had the floor, the
| author of s'Vivian Grey" invariably
managed to follow the author OF
"Juventus Mundi." If Gladstone did
not enjoy then primacy which could
challenge such tribute he assuredly
may claim it now. Between him and
his famous antagonist there was every
contrast which two men could present.
They differed in personal appearance,
in political views, in their motives of
ambition, in their mental qualities, in
their style of oratory and in their
ideas of the true scope and functions
of government All the conserya-
tive instincts of the England that
is found natural Judgement in
the mind of the gifted jew; all
the aspirations for the England that is
to be were terminating then and have
since blossomed in the soul of the Illus
trious leader of the Liberals. Disraeli
never forgot his art He expressed, in
his dress and manner, his appreciation
of the influence of outward form. With
less ambition and less intellectual de-
velopment he would have been the
leader of the '.swell mob" of London.
Gladstone's naturalness and SIM
plicity are virtues which shine with
even greater luster in his domestic life.
AS host he illustrates the old traditional
English hospitality. The stranger
within his gates soon ceases to be a
stranger. His enjoyment of a clever
companion is as keen as his enjoyment
| of a clever book. 1t has been said of
him that the great deficiency of his
character is the lack of sense of
humor. Those who have been admitted
to intimate personal relations with him
bear witness that however true the
criticism may be of him as a public
man it does him injustice when he has
dismissed the cares of state and yields
himself to the pleasures of social inter-
course and conversation. That the
works of Dickens and Thackeray are
among his favorite volumes; that he
highly prizes the wit of Rabelais and
Gil Bias, that he once amused party
of friends after dinner by reading to
them from Mark Twain's ..Innocents
Abroad" and that the Potiphar Papers
often regale his leisure moments, are
evidence that his gravity is not unre-
lieved by an appreciation of the face
tious, and this too in spite of an obser-
vation he made to an American gentle
man that he could never see any thing
very funny in German humor. As 4
father and husband he illustrates the
virtues which are more precious TO
society than all the cunning or wisdom
of craftsmanship. If Mr.. Gladstone's
moral code points to the perfection of
human happiness, his nome life
furnishes beautiful illustration of the
progress he has made in the direction
of its attainment. The highest con-
ception of greatness insists that no
man is truly great who is not good.
If Mr.. Gladstone were not a great man
all the world would acknowledge that
he is good one. The chief stumbling
block to true estimate of him is the
belief by many that his goodness is not
unchequered by insincerity and that he
uses his capital of reputation for high
political morality in ways that more
become the leading politician than the
disinterested philosopher and reformer.
That belief viii disappear when poster
ity has had time to do him the justice
that it does the memory of all men,
9. d. b., IN Brooklyn Eagle.