St. Paul daily globe., 1891-08-17

failed TO leave any Otner marhS Oh bne
pages of history. The only Cecil since
1.-The great Sir Robert" who has done
signal honor to the name is the present
marquis of Salisbury, though he has
suffered under the disadvantage of two
changes of appellation since he entered
public life. Many brilliant man in
parliament has found one such trans
formation fatal to his chances of having
either the old or new cognomen in
scribed on the scroll of fame, especially
when, as is frequently the case, 1t Is ac-
companied by tranSference 10 the
upper house, that grave of ambitions
and home of mySteriOusly disappeared
public men.
[ have found. by the way, many men
who as commonerS bade fair to take
front seat in the nations councils a
couple OF decades ago and who had
supposed to have passed away because
their names are no longer heard. to be
fourishing feebly under an alias forced
upon them by the laws of primogeni-
ture. or in the shape of so-called ele-
yation to the peerage by grateful Sow
ereign. The result being the same in
each case, the reputation made by Rob
ert Lowe, for instance, being of little
practical value 10 Lord SherbrOoke,
whois besides, deprived of the incentive
to effort by his new environment.
Lord Salisbury began public life as
Lord Robert Cecil, serving as member
for Stamford under that name from
1858, when he was tWenty-three years
of age, until the death of his elder
brother in 1860, when he became Wis
count Cranborne. 1t was year later
that he became secretary of state for
India under the late Lord Derby'S ad
ministgation, his first appolntive office.
Since then honors have fallen on him
thickly. Not the least of these was the
visit which the queen paid to him at
Hatfield house, his principal residence,
during the jubilee year.
This mansion is said to be the finest
owned by a subject of her majesty. [
is charmingly situated in Hertfordshire,
within half an hours ride by train from
London.
The leading characteristic of Lord
Salisbury is the absence of pecullari-
ties, or, if the paradox is permissible,
of characteristics. 1t would, perhaps,
be fairer to say that his character is so
well rounded that, though remarkably
able man, he has scarcely quality
which stands out boldly enough to per-
nit itself to be identified. This is re-
fiected in his personal appearance, to
the disgust of the caricaturists,
whose cartoons which include the pre-
mier are always more or less faithful
portraits, according to the ability of the
artist. 1t is, perhaps, remarkable that
his almost massive proportions should
not have led to his being pictured as a
Colossus, an ogre or some other gigantic
figure, good or bad. to suit the occasion.
Instead of this sole tangible feature
being used by the seekers after the pict-
uresque the fellows actually seem to en-
deavOr to rob his lordship of the out
ward and visible sign of the gen.
erous nand with which nature has
dealt out her gifts to him. A
characterization which, | think, does
injustice to the Englishman, but appears
plausible each time | see him or hear
of him, would be to say that he is big.
brunette Benjamin Harrison, without
any of the qualities which go to make
the president of the United States Oc-
casionally the subject of cOntemptuous
reference, even by his friends. Sails
bury has nothing small about him. He
may be said to lack the empire-creatiDg
genius-of Dlsraeli or the superb debat-
ing power of the late Lord Derby or the
diplomatic acuteneSS of Bismarck Or
even our own Blaine, but it would
have taken any one of these in
his best days considerable effort
to have got the better of the
queens chief counselor. He bas none
of that quality called genius, which is
to madness so near akin, but hIS su-
perbly balanced faculties render him
independent alike of the tricks of the
politicians and the highly-keyed strain
| ing after effect necessary with man
of less average capacity. Everything
| the man does or says or leaves
undone or unsaid bears the stamp
| of mental poise. His oratorical eff
| forts are devoid of those flights
| Of rhetoric affected by some speakers
| in order to make their points tell. His
state papers are remarkable for the
same eQuable tone. He has no rivals in
his cabinet, though Mr.. Balfour would
be dangerous to the prestige of a less
! capable chief. 1t Is. in tact, not un-
! common remark that the chief secretary
/ for Ireland Is the ableSt man in the cab
| met, but this is generally accepted as
| without prejudice TO the premier
At home Lord Salisbury is a model
| family man. domestic to a degree, yet
| not uXoriouS or eaen OStentatiOuS i'll his
recognition of tine claims. of his family
upon due share of his attention. His
marriage, which occurred in 1857, has
| been blessed with five sons and two
daughters, the eldest of the boys, known
as ViScount Cranborne, bidding fair to
| be a fitting successor to the headShip
of the house. BY marriages i'll this
or the previous generation of Cecils
became allied to the houses of Stanley
! and De la War;, not TO mention more
| remote connections of equal imp0r-
tance. Lord Salisbury's widowed sis
! ter-in-Iaw married the present Earl Of