The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1893-09-06
HOW MRaalAosToNE DoEs:rAlNos
The s,atesman's Habits of Life Described
by One ofiHis, Admitting and Appreoia~
tive Daughters.

by One ofslIis, a dmiring and Appreoia.
tive Daughters.
aTake it away. How can l do two
things at once?" These are perhaps the
| very first well authenticated words ever
used nv Mr.. Gladstone He was then a
| small boy, doing his lessons, when he
was interrupted by the entrance Of a
nurse bringing him dose of physic
! The words will seem q, foreshadowing of
the astuteness of the "old parliamentary
hand" who can find.an escape out IF any
situation: but to those who know MIR
Gladstone more than superficially they
contain one of the secrets of the:sureness
and success of his work. Never over
load your ship; never let your business
overlap That mas been his first rule
His second rule, but not second in
Importance, is whatsoever thy hand
fndeth to do, do it with thy might"
So it has come to pass that each person
who meets him on his own subject or
work in life feels that that is the subject
in which Mr.. Gladstone's real heart lies.
Nobody who has watched him and taken
note of the intensity with which he
throws himself into the subject in hand
can be surprised at this. The theologian,
the scholar. and the politician each in
tnrn would say that Mr.. Gladstone was
before all things theologian, scholar,
politician, while even subjects unlm-
portant in themselves when brought be-
fore him, are treated for the moment
with this characteristic energy and ear
nesGneSs.
At the same time, as has been said by a
friend: No words can exaggerate the
extraordinary charm and prllllancy OIL
his conversation, especially When any
one is present who Will resist Gne IeInptt-
tion to be silent listener and will leap
into the arena, take up the cudgels, throw
in questions and criticisms, or in any
other way act as steel to lint.
There is nothing.peculiar or elaborate
in Mr.. Gladstone's method OF working.
interruption is fatal to shim, but his
power of concen tration is so great that
that conversation, SO long as 1T IS con-
secutive, may buzz around MN Wltnouc
his being conscious of any disturbance.
He is unable to divide the machinery OF
his mind, as many can do, working. several
smaller parts at once; he concentrates
the whole upon one thing.
When asked question he often pauses
SO long before answering that ne gives
the impression of notshaying heard but
if his interlocutor is patient he will get
his answer in course tlme-the Train
of thought must be finished.
One reason why he gets through in one
day more than most people do in week,
is his economy of time. This is habit
viii Oh must have been acquired long ago,
as in the year 1839-that OF the double
marriage of Mr.. Gladstone and Lord
Lyttelton to the sisters Catherine and
Nav Glynne-the two brothers-in-law
surprised their wives, and awed them
not a little, by filing up all odd bits and
scraps of time with study or work.
Out of their pockets would come the in
eyitable little classic at chance times of
leisure.
Mr.. Gladstone's day has often been de-
scribed, but it would be an omission not
to give it here, especially as the accounts
in newspapers and reviews are seldom
accurate No member Of the Hawarden
household can for moment compete
with Mr.. Gladstone in .regu larity and
punctuality. Always in his library,
his @Temple of Peace by s o'clock, he
has, if in his usual health, never been
known since the year 1912 to fail to
appear at church, three-quarters of
mile OIL, dU O.CUs LUZ oOlfiSS.
Nothing but illness has ever hindered
him from daily attending this service.
This is only carrying out principle
which was exemplified in his earlier days
by the daily prayers which he had with
his two servants when, young man,
he lodged in the Albany, in London,
His Correspondence is. sifted by the son
or daughter living smost. at homes and
soon after breakfast a selection from his
letters is brought to him. An average
of one-tenth only of the postal arrivals
is laid before him, and of these he an
swers about one-half An interesting
collection might be made out of the re-
mainder for probably no public man was
ever addressed OF consulted on so many
hundred subjects.
When he is in office the system is more
elaborate. The whole morning, whether
at home or on visit or holiday, is given
up to business; and after 2 O'Clock
luncheon he resumes work for an hour or
so, and till lately, occupied the recreation
time with tree-cutting, which he chose
as giving him the maximum OF healthy
exercise in the minimum of time But
for the last two or three years he has
generally spent the afternoon at his new
library. What is to be the future of this
library is a secret still locked within Mr..
Gladstone's own breast. But whatever it
he. the library is certainly in no sense
adapted to become what is now termed
"a free library,n being, first and fore
most, distinctly theological in his charac-
ter
no this building, erected a few years
ago close to the church, he has transport
ed "a, 900 books, every single volume of
which has been put into its new nest
with his own hands. Only those who
have arranged their own few hundreds or
thousands of books will realize the eX-
penditure of thought, time and labor
which this fact signifies. Fixed shelves,
bookcases projecting into the room, an
arrangement by subject rather than by
size or authorship, are his principles in
arranging library.
Every day he looks over a number of
booksellers catalogues, and there are Ger
tain subiects--any thing, for instance,
about witchcraft, strange religions. duel
ing, gypsies, epitaphs, marriage, Homer,
Shakespeare, or Dante-which are sure
of getting an order. For first editions,
he mas no special appreciation, or for
wonderful or elaborate bindings. His
copy Of the Odyssey has been rebound
several times, as he prefers always to use
the same copy. He usually has three
books on hand at once of various degrees
of solidity, the evening one probably
being novel. Aristotle, st. Augustine,
DAME and Bishop Butler are the authors
fao,,l,, ;r+aractoI hi,1-