The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-08-06
rIsTEREsTrsss CHARACTERS.
Discussion. of, Personalities since
 PhiIip sydney.

Discussion. 0f, Personalities Since
 Philip sydney.
 New Yirk Times
 who ia the most sInteresting" char acter in English history since Sir Philip sydneyg We now have at hand the testimony of Benjamin Disraeli that Prince Albert, the consort of Queen vfctorls, deserves that distinc- ton. After Sir Theodore Martin had published his Life of the Prince Con- sort.a Disraell sent him a compliment ary note, which is given to the. world in Sir Theodore's Queen Victoria as Knew Her. just brought out in En- land. He said;
 You have completed a great work. You have rescued from the frigid panegyric of mere courtiers. and placed in the proud consciousness of q nation. the life of the most perfect and the most interesting character in our history since Sir Philip Sydney
 Most perfect meaning. perhaps most nearly perfect, Prince Albert may have been, as he was certainly char acter in history, and perfection. or an approach to 1t, is not generally char Aoteristie of historical personages. The Prince Cousort was an amiable German gentleman of sound ideals. who bore himself with humility and discretion in a most exacting and embarrassing position. In his private life (which was ali in the bright sunlight of pub be said to have had any) he impressed the world as a good well-meaning man. There may be a few more near iy perfect characters In English hiss tory lSir Philip Sidney not eonsideredl, but 1t would be difficult to recall them. The interesting. however. is another matter. When pisraeli said kn z~ Al. most interesting character since Syd- nsy he was not joking. of course. but his sincerity Is open to question. He may have written to Sir Theodore be- lieving that the editor Of the Queens diaries could not fail to show his note to the Queen. Even so. the audaeity of the statement Is remarkable,
 Sir Philip Sydney was certainly an interesting historical personage. Dy- ing at the age of thirty-two he had achieved renown as courtier. states man and soldier, as we'll as poet. He was the first of the English sonnet taers. He was the hero who, as his last gasp, refused a sup of cold water
 because 2 common soldier. lying near him. needed it more. He was wise valiant and gifted. hero fit for TO- nance. But between 1586, the year of Sydney's death, and the hour of Dis
 raeii, there were many Englishmen quite as interesting, according to one's Idea of the meaning of that word in- terestiag. Shakespear rather piques the fancy. Milton's career arrests the attention. Cromwell was a figure of surpassing interest. Who can forget
 versatile. buoyant. purposeful Boiling broke, Sir Robert walpole. John Wilkes, Warren Hastings, Lord Give in making a list of interesting man7 Jack Burgoyne was so gay. so many sided, 50 gallant and witty that we hope Mir. Bernard Shaw will stop writing cheap paradox some day long enough to fin- ish the delightful sketch he made of him in The Devils Disciple" Cor tainiy Richard Brinsley Sheridan was as interesting as bis friend, the Prince of Wales, was dull; an Irishman with true Irish wit, an ardent lover and brave, a playwright a manager of theatres. an orator. and a statesman to boot While. before Englishmsn and English history ceased to bze interest ing. Benjamin Disraeli himself appear ed, that man of many accomplishments, of unbounded assurance. of appreci- able courage, of strange affections, of unquestionable wisdom. who from writing fashionable novels came to fill the highest office in his sovereign's gift and to be the actual ruler of an empire. All these men were much more interesting, from any point of view, than Prince Albert, if not than Sir Philip Sydney. It would be easy enough to name few dozen more. Sir Theodore Martins new book has created no great stir in England. The