New-York tribune., 1889-10-20
ENGLISH TAKERS.
MR. GEORGE RUSSELL AGAlN-MR. W. H.
RUSSELL. MR.. KINGLAKE. MIR. FROUDE.
w

III | return to the subject OF EngIsn i"iA0''' ~
is primarily because l have TO correct an error
about Mr. George Russell which unhappiy oc-
Cured in the first Of the series
There were. in fact. several errors of
various magntudes, and Mr.. Russell has favored
me with several statements Of fact which he
wishes laid before the American public l. The
Duke of Bedford not Mr.. RuSsells uncle, but his
first cousin 2 Aylesbury did not desert him,
but was itself deserted; not by him, but by an
ungrateful Parliament. which, regardless of the
fact that it had been represented by RUSSELL
disfranchised the borough Its electors were
merged in Mid-Bucks. and Mr.. Russell declined to
contest the new constituency against Baron Ferdi-
nand de Rothschid 3. And most important of
ALL the Duke OF Bedford never gave Mr.. Russell
an allowance, and therefore never stopped it,
whether in conseI Iuence Of his magazine discourse
in behalf Of Radcalism. or for any other reason.
have to express my sincere regret that should
have made those mistakes and especially the last
of them, which seems 10 have given Mr. Russell
some annoyance.
There is, however, greater offender than 1,
and that is " The Pail Mall Gazette" In quot
ing the imaginary letter of the Duke of Bedford
to Mr. Russell. / spoke of it as part OF the
current gossip of that day, and probably clever
concoction The Pail Mall" which practices the
new Journalism, suppressed all this. copied the
letter as il no suspicion Of its genuineness had
been breathed, and when Mr.. Russell contra
dicted it, remarked with virtuous calmness that it
was an invention of mine. Even the Oldest Jour
nalism seems preferable to this
had il in mind when writing some weeks ago
20 say that Mr.. Russell himself deserved to be
named among the takers Of the day, and | will
still say it. He talks very well indeed after
fashion which is perhaps not the newest but
4lnN NA.r
not always a recommendation. unless it be in the
mind, and still more in the mouth, of the shop
keeper who has wares TO dispose of. Mr.. Russell
does not forget that he is Russell and though he
renounces the Wing traditions and Whig doctrines
Of his house, he clings-perhaps for that reason
the more closely-to some of it's other inheritances
lie must prove himself Russell in something,
if not in his political belief He has not re.
nounced, at any rate, the conviction that
Russell has claim on the consideration OF the
company. He talks in that tone of authority
which compes attention, and certainly the nearer
has no reason to regret IT, for what ne has TO say
is we'll said. He has read much and remembered
much, and he retains, or perhaps should say
reproduces, the antique habit of quoting at con-
siderable length what he remembers. Few
men would in these hurried days expect to hold
the table while repeating long extracts from Whg
succeeds to some extent where others would not
try He has anecdote. too. and even gossip
nay there are few who have more gossip, and
few who can be more entertaining than MI
Russell when the fresher interest OF more modern
topics causes him 10 forget for the moment
his ancestry and his first cousinship 10 that Duke
OF Bedford who is not his uncle. His conscious
ness of this kinSMp is not indeed obtruded on his
acquaintance; II is but the underaurrent which
flows serenCly and continuously below, no l1atter
what agitation there may he above. or how much
the surface Of the stream may frOth and sparkle
His articles in the "New Review have shown
that he can say bitter things / am sure he would
prefer 10 say sweet things. The bitter are said
from a sense of duty, and il is only when sense
of duty dips the pen in vltrOl that the world
knows how bitter any man can be. In talk,
however, and in the general intercourse of So
ciety a very little Of this acid gives much
flavor as most people care for. Mr. Russell, in his
milder moods, uses it sparingly in conversation,
and can be, and sometimes is, one Of the NEST
agreeable of London takers.
There is another Russell who should have been
named when journalists were first considered
w. II. Russell, formerly of " The Tines the
veteran whose brilliant services date back TO the
Crimean War, and perhaps further. | never
heard that he first cousin or even nephew 10
any Duke, nor do | know much about his family
except that he is Irish; an Irishman of type
which needs only - be more common TO make
the whole race hkeablc, as 50 many OF them, and
all the best of them, are. DIR. RusSell-he Is
DR. by virtue of an honorary degree Of LII. D.
has clung TO his brogue through all his long resi-
dence elsewhere than in Ireland; it is an accent
rather than brOgue, soft as the air of summer
morning and one charm the more in talk which
se f,.Il % hon, IIa nd ble fall Ia lfOts
been known to everybody in London. He was
long since adopted into the Prince Of Walcss set,
but the favor of the Prince lef it him As it found
him. natural and easy, talking without effort or
ambition, as if he could not help it, as bird
flies The true Irish humOr is his, not less racy
for being refined the secret of telling a good
story so as TO make il seem better is his; and
the art OF repartee is his; his also the kindness Of
nature which prefers TO put button on his foil
rather than wound a friend or foe 1t might be
hard to say who surpasses him in gracefulnesS or
in piquancy. You Will ha,dly ever hear b.m
named except as Billy" Russell, familiarity
which denotes nothing but affection.
DR.. Rpssell has been called The contemporary
historian of the Crimcan War; he rather the
critic and censor OF those who conducted the war
The historian is Mr.. KinglalSe, we all know:
the friend and panegyrist of Lord Ra CLAN. and al
time ornament Of London society, from
which of late years he has withdrawn. gener-
alton has grown up which knows him not nor
perhaps did he ever care deeply for society which
had nothing beyond mere snartness, nor would
he ever enter into that competition for celebrity
in which men Of less delicacy found pleasure and
won various kinds of social renown His most
intimate friend was perhaps Hayward who
serted his own authority with unfailing energy 70
tba and Mr. mi rod ,rttbo
initiating him in the least He was content TO wait
his turn he would not claim il. but when it came
he took it, and he was sure of attention as soon
as his low, firm voice was heard. He liked a few
friends rather than many, and even when he talked
and Tie whole table listened. there was something