New-York tribune., 1891-05-24
LORD BEACONSFIELD.
6 NEW BOOK ABOUT HIM BY SIR WILLIAM
FRASER, WITH NOTES ON SOME
OLDER BOOKS.


modern English politics Sir William Fraser has
published little volume called Disraeli and his
Day." which is better than its title; better ID
proportion as there is more about Disraeh ana
less about his Day. For what one wants In nus
case Is illumination, and that must De seugho
within and not from without, or not so much irom
without. The Sir William Fraser who has done
this book about him was o friend ana supporter
He has not tried to make biography The reader
who wants regular biography has already
number among which he may choose; biographies
both personal and political or historical
Almost the earliest was by none other than
that perfervid Irish patriot, Mr. I. +. OConnor'
in whose veins all the milk, If milk there were,
turned for the time TO gall. Yet there was not
gall enough for the intended two volumes MT
T. p. stopped short with the first; then rewrote
and condensed and published the whole life In
single volume It had got TO sixth edition In
1884, and is a good book TO consult If you care
to know the worst that can be said about great
man, or to see the least good construction put
on each memorable action of his life. Then came
"The Public Life of Lord Beaconsield," by MT.
Hitchran dull book none too accurate ABOUT
the same time-it was the year following the
Congress of Berlin-came cut Mr. George Brandes'S
Charakterbild" or character study. Europe had
about that time begun to take deeper interest," III
this singular parsonage and his renown had reacheu
to the uttermost corners of the European Conu-
nent, and beyond. 1t then that Prince Bis
marck Judge of character if ever there were one,
declared of him that the Jews the man." He
was weighing Lord Beaconsield against Lord Sails
bury in those strong scales of HIS and that was the
result. year later Frenchman, NJ. Cucheval-
Clarigny, tried his hand on :" the jew" The
book never think, attracted much attention, nor
is any French estimate of an English statesman
likely to be judicial. The French in their views
of things English no more likely TO he judicial
than the Irish. They see no truer nor deeper
than do their friends the other side OF the other
channel Mr.. Clayden wrote book entitled Eng
land under Lord Beaconsfed" He is Liberal,
and behed England under Lord Beaconsheid
through pair Of Nonconformist spectacles.
Not many months ago we had that admirable
short study of Disraeli by Mr.. Froude, master
piece of brief biography What has interested
NJ Froude is his subjects character far more
than the mere political annals Of his period 1t
Is an effort TO interpret the man TO his fellow
men. A good Gadstonian passed upon it what
he evidently thought severe criticism. Mr..
Froude" he said, is constantly making points
against my great leader" Well, it is one of the
Incidents of leadership that the leader great though
he be- should submit TO criticism. The number
of those who think all criticism on Mr. Gladstone
kind of blasphemy Is great, but 1t does not In
elude all mankind. Perhaps the United States of
America is the only country where the entire
population men, women and children, are Glad
stone worshippers. Elsewhere there is a dissent
ing minority, and in England the minority some
times, as at the present moment, becomes the
majority So ! hardly think my friends COM
paint of Mr.. Froude final condemnation of the
book. The Disraeli whom Mr.. Froude presents TO
al
of utter wickedness which Disraeh had become in
the eyes of the good Gladstonian. But the por
trait may be none the less faithful likeness for
that. He does not idolize his hero. There is
large class whose attitude toward any great leader
seems TO be necessarily an attitude of dolatry or
an attitude of eXecratiOn. Such state of mind
Is useful to the party manager, whose trade it is
to use as skilfuy as he can all the weaknesses
of human nature But il is not sane uT reason
able or even, for the purposes of truth, profitable.
Mr. Froude adopts different one. His aim is
scientific. He has sought TO find out for himself
what manner of man Disraeli really was, and
having satisfied himself, then to impart his knowl-
edge to others. He imparts it, here as in his
other books in a manner which makes every
page fascinating.
There are however, two other books which /
have always thought curiously illustrative of the
.
portant parts of his life, if not of the political
leader as leader. These are his Home Letters
written in 1907 and still more his GORE
spondence with his Sister, 1s37-52." They are
very fresh, very frank, not less full of original
perceptions of life than his best novels where of
course well as in public life, he must be studied
if he Is to be studied seriously have read beside
these many letters by Disraeli which are not in
print Mr.. Froude refers to series written to
his friend Mrs. Brydges Williams, the interesting
lady who left him her fortune He tells the story
all too briefly, and the account he gives of the
letters is based, as he himself says on rather
hurried reading of them. have been privileged
to go over the whole of them more than once, and
at different times have had access to other parts
of bis correspondence. l should say of every
letter of Disraeli's ever looked at that it could
have been written by nobody else The stamp
of his individuality is on every page. 1t may be
note of civility compliment, the
acknowledgement Of gift or answer to an invita-
ton. Whatever it were, Disraeli expressed him
self in his own way. He seldom paid homage TO
the conventional, or accepted the standards which
were current. The commonest events of life no
longer seemed common when his pen had dealt
with them. The element of surprise was con-
stantly occurring; it was idle to predict what he
would do say on any given occasion; he took
his own view and not yours or mine, and lie had
courage which rose, or fell, by imperceptible
gradations, into audacity.
His contempt for criticism has long passed into
q proverb. Mr.. Froude-I think it Essays that
never but once he known to show resentment
and that was not in his own behalf but his wife's
The wits of the Carlton Club, who thought
it good sport TO chaff him Oh some well-known
peculiarities of the lady TO whom he was under
so many Obligations did not soon forget his out
burst: Gentlemen, do none of you know the
meaning of the word gratitude ?" 1t gener-
GUS and cynical both, and in both was character
istic Of the author. different version Of the
story is given here:
Bernal Osborne was impudent enough to say
10 him, i saw you walking in the Park with Mrs
L..