The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1905-05-07


nof ailo,ssd 20 pas that this tendency was
most strikingly displayed. in his reform
blli and his proposals for Catholic RELIEF,
many Of hIa admirers considered that he
vent too far IN tho direction Of concilia-
I,g onnonenta. Still, this very excess
a,oWed how deeply rooted In HE mind was
that tenderness for minoritles which honta.
Lambert has eulogized - the salvation OF
our constitutional system IL seems an
obvious political tr1lism that great change
however right in itself. Is much less likely
10 be- carried out successfully " large
number Of persons are left whose prejudioes
Inolte them 70 hamper IT, There was no
truth Of which Pitt was more convinced
Az 10 Pitts character - q man. Lore
SALISBURY thinks that It has been too m1ch
the fashion 10 regard him either a. blue
hook on two legs. IN whom facts and figures
had emothered all human passion OF elSe
e. q joyless, loveless misanthroPe' .ne M
oarnation Of pure and unmixea stnO,Hon,
He notes that In the letters printeo IN b'Iu
etanhope's life Of Pitt there " no Teoo o.
anything approaching to suuennsa. o
disposition. There Ii not BLACK tnoukn'
or moody word In them IRON the nrst 70 tnS
last. This, Notwithstanding Pitt wa u'eo
by severe disappointments, both ~ nome
and abroad. The Wing Oppodaon mar,
assed him with an unscrupulousneSS o.
tactics 70 which there has been no peIaiiei
In recent times, while his colleague tnu-
low, treated Pitt with q mixture Of insoiSpoo
and perhdy. Then, again, most OF tne car
ling schemes Of Pitts life were foiled py the
anarchy Of Ireland and France. To make
other annoysnces worse, govt seems nom
his letters, TO have been a very requsnt
visitor. yet not a word approaching 70
inpatsnce appears in any one Of theln'
The tone which appears throughout them
IA that OF a cheerful, contented, quiet man.
with whom the world Is going evenly In
point OF mood their most striking feature
! is their extreme equAnimity. There Is no
! indication OF depression at his first deieet
at Cambridge, OF Of anger at the intrigue
which drove him and Lord Shelburne out OF
Office after the Peace. There u no trace
| Of emulation at the marvellous success OF
! his early speeches, or Of his own unparalleled
popularity In 1854. He announces his VIC
! tories over the Coalition in the same un-
| imprisoned tone In which be mentions that
| he has been TO the Duchess Of Bottoms.
There il none Of those professions OF In
difference to good or evil fortune which belle
themselves; there Is no word betraying the
existence Of any feeling on the subjects
Of which he writes, except that OF calm
! complacency.'
Pitts manners have been censured as
sstii, retired, reserved and sullen' The
author OF these essays submits that the
accusation has been sufficiently refuted
by the Marques wellesley (the Duke OF
Thn
from close and intimate acquaintance In
a letter addressed TO John Wilson Croker
In 1880: His manners were Penectly
plain without any aheCtation; he seemed
utterly unconscious Of his own superior
ity, and much more disposed TO listen than
to talk He never betrayed any symptom
Of anxiety to usurp the lead, or to display
his own powers, but rather was inclined
to draw forth others, and to take merely an
equal share in the general conversation;
then he plunged heedleesly into the niirth
Of the hour, with no other care than TO pro-
mote the general good humor and happiness
of the company. He was endowed. beyond
any man Of the time whom know, with
a gay heart and a social spirit Nor was
this gaiety the mere ebullition Of youthful
vitality. Nineteen years Of once did not
wear il away. Lord Salisbury recalls =
comment made by Lord FitEharris In 1900;
Nothing could be more playful than Pitt
conversation. His style and manner were
quite those OF an accomplished idler' :
Equally unfounded, according TO the writer
of these essays, u the charge that Pitts
heart was unahectionate or cold. His
tender affection for his nieces, the earnest
and thoughtful regard for his mother
which his letters constantly breathe. his
deep attachment to his home, and his inter
est in AL that concerned tall negatived
the absurd assertion that he had no domestic
Joys, and that be was q mere official ma
chine, unencumbered with a heart. Some
OF the greatest mistakes he committed
were the mistakes Of affection. His feel
inRs misled him into making two appoint
rnents which were not only the worst that
he ever made, but almost the worst which
It was possible for him to make-those
were the appointment Of his brother, Lord
Chatham. to the ADM atty, and the APP
pointment Of his tutor, DR.. Prettyman, To
a bishopric.'