Arizona republican., 1903-03-12
MIR. GLADSTONE
"Reminiscences Given by His Private
 Secretary.

The Sunday afternon lecture given at the Poplar town hall, under the aus pices of the Poplar Labor League, was delivered by Sir Algernon West, L. L. C formerly private secretary to MT. Gladstone
 Slf Algernon, whose early mention of MT. Gladstone evoked cheers, said he was glad to find that they had not for gotten that statesman's name. He went on to give two or three stories. MT. Gladstone hated smoking, and one day ne said to Sir Algernon: You have been smoking" He replied that he had been sitting half an hour in the room or S1r w. Harcourt Ca great smoker). MT Gladstone remarked. II never knew SIT William Harcourt smoked. He must always be very careful in changing his clothes before he comes to me. A friend of the lecturer met Dean Stan ley and Mr. Glandstone at dinner. Stanley said that at Eton they ignored mathematics altogether. and that when he and Gladstone went up at Oxford neither of them could do rule of three sum-adding II am still in that posi- ton, which is rather unfortunate, sec Ing that l have to administer the rev enues Of Westminster Abbey" But MT Gladstone set to work and took first class in classics and in mathemati while later on he was known as the greatest financier and the readiest man of figures of his time
 Sir Algernon became MT Gladstone's s prlVate secretary in 1868, and in the hrst interview the latter said, 1T hope we shall have many talks hereafter, but this is time for business: will you take this box of correspondence and try to get it into some shape and or der?' That duty afforded him a good insight into public life There were let ters from men who gave modest de scriptions of themselves. some with . | -effacement which did them hono:. and others with overwhelming preten- sions which reminded him of the East ern saying: They come to shoe tine | pasha's horses, and the beetle stretch ed out his foot" A day or two later MT. | Gladstone spoke to him of the relat tions which ought to subsist between min- | ister and his secretary-''They ought to be those which exist in happy house. l held betwee man and his wife-there should be nothing kept back, and I shall give you every possible confidence in every single thing that I do." Mir Clad l stone put into his hand a plan for the | disestablishment of the Protestant l church in Ireland, which was so com- plete that there was very little differ l ence between it and the act as passed Before making his speech on introduc- ing that bill, Mr. Gladstone was sitting at 2:30 in his privae room with a calm mind reading Shakespeare: he said | that his speech would last three hours | and 1t lasted three hours and ten min- utes. So accurate was he in everything Sir Algernon early saw that in all ne | aid there was a deep sense of religion it was to him as the Nile to Egypt, or as the sunshine to the world.
 As to the charge that MT Gladstone was intolerant to those who differed from him, Sir Algernon said that it was | true to this extent: When a matter was being discussed, he was most modest gentle and inquiring. He once wrote to him. T want to know every detai about malt and beer, from the time tn: barley is sown to the time that the fin lshed product is in the cask" But wher his mind had once been made up he dit net like the people to make objection: at the last moment He followed tht advice given by Bacon: A statesman should always doubt to the last, anc then act as if he had never doubted
 Of MT. Gladstone's extraordinary un
 selfishness, Sir Algernon gave this in
 stance: After the operation for cat
 aract, and the confinement for som, days in the dark, it was feared that tn, operation had not been successful
 His first words in the matter were
 How sorry l am for Dr. Nettleship.' II 1892 on going to the old familiar doo
 in Downing street. MT. Gladstone saic
 How unnatural it is at my time D
 life to undertake a task like this.' Ant later he said My great wish now is tt
 be out of the strife. Mine ought to b
 one of the faces set toward Zion. Thi
 is only a preparatory school"
 Sir Algernon concluded. When shal We see another like him? Not in m, day, l am afraid I pray God that yol may in yours. London Daily News.