New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1886-12-25
SIR FRANCIS DOYLE.

d. Appleton 20.
The cheerful and accomplished gentleman who
~ the age of seventy-four puts upon record these
,andom comments upon affairs and personal reco
1ectious of men, has been the associate Of authors
scholars statesmen. lawyers and leaders OF soci-
CIV a barrister without much practice. professor
Mt Oxford and an Industrious official OF the CIVIL
service lie shows o keen concern IN ponIlcs'
mast present and especially future, but ne mas noU
been distinguished as a politician. His favorlte
interests seem to be poetry and horseracing. with
long odds in favor of the horse. He was born az
Nunappleton in Yorkshire, q famous place whNh
had BELONGED to the second Villiers Duke OF Buck
fnyham. the author Of "Ihe Rehearsal and inc
Zimri Of Drydens SATIRE and still earlier had been
the property of Buckingham's fathcrin-law, LORD
Fairfax, who is known in history as the Parlia-
mcntary general. but has still another claim TO
rrnown since "he figures in the Stud Book as the
earliest Englishman who possessed an Arab mare"
Sir Francis made his first appearance In The
world whilst the York races were going on, IN
the year of the great Wbalebonc." Perhars then
we should not wonder that his "reminiscences OF
the turf date back. it WERE to the very begin
mines Of things and that there are two horse sto-
ries in the same paragraph whichrecords MS oT.h'
lie was al Eton under the notorious DIT hea'e'
i"the stalwart fogger OF ever SO many ohousah"
bows, and he gives substantially the same ac-
world is already familiar, and the same account OF
the extraordinary badness of the system OF educa-
tion then pursued at the school Yet he has
somethinr kindly to say OF Keate after all Inc
foyger had one qualification for head-m MASTER
which Dr. Arnold had mott mean the knowi-
edge of God Almighty's intention thai there
should exist for a certain time, between cmld-
hood and manhood, the natural production known
ms n bow" Ru bv turned out sch OF prlgs' anu
ma III
ing upon the university the notion that crossed
your mind inevitably was that every one OF them
must have been recently baptized under the name
of Tbeudas The reader who does not under
stand Sir Francis's allusiOn may be reminded OF
the Jew mentioned in the With chapter OF Acts.
who set himself up for somebody we are as
slred that Dr. Kcate was Thoroughly manly "ho
riybt-hearted" but this hardly agrees with re-
mark male by Sir Francis to his old schoolfeilow'
Lord Blachford. that Keate did not mind your
lyiny to him what he hated was monotony OF
excuses.
"Mnl your lyiny 30 him." retorted Lord Blach-
ford Il should think not why he eNacteo IL do
q mark of proper respect remember getu"'
into some trumrery scrape. and when called upon
for nv explanations. instead OF making the
shuniiny statement ne anticipated, toll MN inc
literal truth uTon which he at once inquired OF
me. with great appearance Oh anger, "ne'noi
had been drinking"
At Eton DOYLE formed intimacies with Glad
stone. Arthur Halam and Bruce, afterwsrd Lord
Ilein lney were all members Of the debating
Society where Ola stone articalarly dis'in uishe
himself the society doubling and trebhn, in num-
hers after he joined it, and the discussions becom
ing far more interesting and animated. Ulad-
stone end Arthur Hallam almost always took the
lead in speaking With Doyle they were also the
chief support of a fortnichtly magazine called
l"The Eton Miscellany Gladstone assumed the
RESPONSIBLE charge of this periodical and con
Quoted it through many difficulties with untlrinS
energy and tact. Sir Francis adds:
NAV as wen remark here that my father,
man as have said elsewhere, of great ability as
well as of great experience in life. predicted Mr.
Gladst ne's future eminencc from the manner IN
which he handled this somewhat tllesome busl
ness at is not" he remarked, THAT THINK
his papers better than yours or flallam' s-that II
NOT nv meaning at all but the force of characte
no has shown in managing his subordinates tin
subord mates | should call them land the comDl
nation of ability and power that he has made evi
dent convince me that such young man cannot
fail to DISTINGUISH himself hereafter"
Bruce was charming in conv elsation and an
orator of remarkable natural powers when
ever he got upon his legs something NOT existin9
l., h;e mind befo O came to him, as 1t seemed from
without and his powers of expression grew ano
spread like O wind suddenly rising as the sIeecf
went on" lie was in his element IN the House
nj Commons end his succession 10 the peerage
was q misfortune for him in one sense-the moro
so as the Scotch earldom did not give him a seat
in the Ilouse of Lords. AMI so. says Sr FRANCIS
"tbe one reward he obtained for his brilliant sue
cess at starting TO be sent all over the world
from one colonial government 10 another" But
uely the dist in suished service which LORD Esln
rcrformed in bis missions "all over the world
ought to console his friends for the sudden sup
preston of his oratory OF Arthur Ealam Sn
Francis writes with admiring and afectionate
warmth ave all of us, even MIR. Gladstone
think. felt whilst conversing with him that we
were in the pi essence Of a larger. profounder and
more thoughtful mind than any of us could claim
for himself. His temper was so charming ano
his social qualities delightful that 1t woul'
be difficult to say whether we admired or love'
him most
From Eaton Gladstone and Doyle went TO OX
ford and Italian TO Cambridge Gladstone IN Tho
ea,ly part of his univ ersity read steadily
and he did not exert himself speaker in the
Debating Society until he had made sure OF h'
distinction in the schools. The header OF the dc
bates at that time was Manning, the present Car
dinal who had fine presence, an effective dcliv
cry and an imposing manner Ills obvious weak
hess is said to have been IAN ASSUME tion OF
omniscience." There was memorable debate II
the union during Doyles day. on the comparatr>
yoetical merits of Byron AMI Shelley. and three
cnmbatants from Cambridge-IIallam, Milne:
lord Houghton and Sunderland-came over u
take part in it. They were all Shelley men, and
so was Doyle the PRINCIPAL champion Of Byron
being Manning His speech, If Sir Francis is mo-
wrong. must have been weak one but he carried
the votes. When Naming, as the time for tal<ln;
his decree approached, ceased to have an ACTIVE
lart in the debates the leadership passed at onc'
To Gladstone The future statesman distinguished
himself at the uni. ersity scholar OF genera
excel cnce all round"
The only mistake, as far as / know, made b,
him in his viva voce examination, to which
fa..al,, lhaf