The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1892-07-16
LORD SALISBURY,
An Aristocrat a TO His Finger Tips
and Man Of Mettle, Though
a Lord.
THE LAST OF THE BARONS,
He is Perhaps the Most English
F!nglishman in England at the
Present Day.


The most remarkable thing about Loro
Salisbury's personal appearance is his
beard. MIR. Gladstone, Lord Beacons.
field, Lord Russell, Lord Palmerston
Lord Derby, Lord Aberdeen, Sir Robert
Peel, the Duke of Wellington, Lord Mel
bourne, and the other prime ministers Of
the nineteenth century wore only side
whiskers. Before their time, for two
centuries, the custom was to shave close.
At the present day boards are more CON-
mon in the house of lords than in the
house of commons, because q good many
elderly men wear them, but in either
house beard makes man decidedly
noticeable. Lord Spencer, formerly lord
lieutenant of Ireland, wears big rough
heard. and Lord Lathom, the present
lord chamberlain, wears beard that ex-
tends almost down to his waist.
OF all the prime ministers in 300 yeArs
Lord Salisbury is the first to wear a
beard. If 1t were not for his grert bulb
GUS forehead and long, aggressive nose
his beard would seem to cover The whole
face of the man and constitute his whole
individuality. The duke of Devonshire,
who also wears beard, is said to have
more "you-be-damnedness" about him
than any other nobleman in England.
But, the New York Sun says, Lord Sal
isbury runs him close. He is the very
type of the strong minded, bull-headed,
good tempered English aristocrat, and
shows it in his appearance as in words
and acts.
Lord Salisbury is younger son Of
the second marquis Of Salisbury, and,
though his father was the lord of many
acres and married to great heirees, the
present head of the house started in life
with little but a historic name and a
splendid education. Lord Robert Ar
thur Talbot Gascoigne Cecil was not the
man to live on his father or TO idle away
the best of his years among dogs and
horses. He determined to be independ-
ent, and, having an Oxford fellowship to
support him, he set out for Australia and
New Zealand, with the serious intention
of becoming colonist and building up
his own fortune by enterprise and hard
work. There he grew his beard, for in
those days razor was almost an I'm
known article in the colonies, and he has
worn it ever since.
Lord Rob bert's plans of life were entire
ly changed by the death of his elder
brother, Lord Cranbourne, to whose
courtesy, title, and magnificent prospects
he succeeded. He had made great
name for himself in the house of COM
mons aud been member Of Lord Der
by's cabinet, when, five years later, the
death Of his father made him Marquis of
Salisbury and one Of the great landed
anagnates of England. He was then SO
and in the prime of his powers, and his
accession to the house of lords proved
most fortunate thing for the conservative
party. Lord Derby, the great Lord
Derby, as he is commonly called, was a
tory of the old school and an unfortunate
politician in every way. He was man
of splendid presence and most chivalro11s
character, and his princely muniticence
and ardent love of sport made him per-
sonally popular. But he was never in
touch with the English people or in har-
mony with the spirit of the age. He
seemed to be feudal nobleman of the
middle ages dropped accidentally into
the nineteenth century. Under his lea
dership the conservatives really had no
prospects. They never got into power
except through some temporary crisis,
and they never held it for more than a
few months. All idea of conservative
administration as a permanent thing
seemed to have passed away. just a
year after Lord Salisbury's accession to
the family honors Lord Derby died. Mr..
Disraei succeeded to the leadership of
the party, and Lord Salisbury took
charge of their interests in the house of
lords. He was Immediately elected
chancellor of the University of Oxford
in succession to Lord Derby-a very
high honor to SO young man and was
marked out for the future prime minister.
Two moro different men than Disraei
and Lord Salisbury could not well be i'm
agined. Disraeli was all his life an
actor, mystery, q dreamer, an adven-
turer. He possessed nothing and he did
not want to possess anything. He never
really owned an acre Of land il his life,
and il he had just enough maney for cur
rent expenses he was thankful not to be.