Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1892-11-29
ICoMMUNICATED.
a GentIeman's Estimate of the Right
Hon. YIN. T.. Gladstone.

A Gentleman's Estimate OF the Eight
Hon. YIN. Il. Gladstone.
she will never be able to fill the
place of Lord Palmerston, inasmuch as
he is deficient in that pugnacity which
is necessary to rouse popular enthusl-
asm.'' It requires some stretch OF the
imagination to believe that this was the
Judgment pronounced-and by COM
petent observer. too-not more than 80
wears ago upon the hero of one iorgets
how many Midlothian campaigns; OF
the man whose power of contagious
enthusiasm has enabled him in the
short space of six years to raise an out
cast cause into the first place in the
programme ola victorious party; whose
extraordinary popularity is dependent,
in no small degl es, upon b ightlngquai-
ities.and whose boldness and pugnaclty
have drawn upon him, IN almost equal
measure and at the same time, the de-
yotion and detestation of his contempt
raries.
The lines in quotation were uttered
By Sir James Stephen. And such an
opinion was woeiully ut fault.
But Mr.. Gladstone's character Is Ike
his face: so mobile that itnever appears
the same for long together; so many
sided that to each observer it presents
different front; so complex that he
seems not one, but an epitome ofall the
GREAT statesmen of the century-com-
bining. as some one has said, 1.-The elo-
Guence of Fox. the experience OF Chat
ham. the courage Of Pitt, with the IL
naucial and administrative capacity OF
| Peel
But-and here is another illustration
of the complexity of Mr. Gladstone,s
gifts-the many-sided catholicity Of his
mind and the variety of his genius
leave him, nevertheless, possessed OF a
singlencss of purpose and concentration
of effort to which it were hard to find
any parallel. Never more than during
these last six years of unexampled diff
culty has Mr.. Gladstone moved on Il
higher moral plane; never-not even
during the Bulgarian agitation-has he
exhibited more clearly his marvellous
faculty Tor setting his whole heart and
soul upon one subject And this he has
done while attaining to an age greater
| than that ut which any statesman be-
fore him has continued to participate
actively in affairs. In one respect only
| has Mr.. Gladstone shown any serious
signs of ageing. Confronted with any
new subject, he feels like q schoolboy
/ confronted with task in an unknown
land. But this is defect which has its
! compromising quality in confirming his
concentration with the more intensity
upon the one remaining object of his
| life. As incidents III the pursuit OF that
object, he has shattered the most pow
erful party in modern English politics,
and deposed the most powerful leader
whom the IRISH race have had for Il
generation. He has now defeated at
the polls the most powerful coalition of
modern times, and has returned to OF
flee under circumstances which will
rive unique opportunities for the display
of his powers rs an old parliamentary
| hand. His last word to the electors at
Midlothian was that they might trust
him to address himselfto his task with
courage and with energy" Not the
most truculent or bigoted of his oppo-
nents will doubt that.
And he is SO years of age-having
been born on Dee 30, 1909 educated
OF Elton and Christ Church, NJ. P. fol-
! Newark 1S32-'45; for Oxford Univer-
sitv. 1S47-'65 for South Lancashire,
I 1SG5-'GS for Greenwich $3.50, and
since then for Midlothian.