LAND MALMESBURY'S MEMOIRS.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 7124, 13 December 1884, Page 1 (Supplement)

LAND MALMESBURY'S MEMOIRS.

It must only bd by a self-effacement of i peculiarly systematic kind that a man who has been a member ef three Cabinets, and has twice held the t. ffion of Foreign Minister, falls so completely out of publio notice aa baa been the case with Lord Malmesbury. Yet he played a more important part in the counsels of tbo Tory party, at the most critical period of its experience, than most of those whose names are much moro familiar in men's mouths today. He was the late Lord Dai by's most trusted adviser when in the heyday of his political fortune. To his tact and foresight was due the coalition of the old Tories with the Disraeli coterie—an accession which undoubtedly revivified Oonservatkm when it waa floundering in an impasse of exploded ehibbo leths and worn-out ideas. He it was v.ho, called to office for the first time, after Lord Palmerston's " spirited Foreign policy " bad involved Eogland in squabble-* in every country where she had a representative, and brought her within measurable distance of war with France, estattlished the entente cordiale with tha latter country, which proved so invaluable to his successors in office in subsequent European complications. Hia services wore esseutially of the unsensational order, and although the late Lord Derby was his firm friend, and fully recognised his diplomatic talent, there is no doubt that if L'rd Malmesbury had not been studiously- unobtrusive at all times, tha public recognition of them would have been more liboral. -However, anyone v.ho reads his autobiography will gather a ptetty accurate notion of the position he occupied, more by inference, indeed, than .by direct statement: for he devotes infinitely more space to sayings and doings of othera than to hiii own. His diary showa him to ba a man of keen observation, and possessed of a line sense of humour. Every page bristles with bon mots and amusing recollections of celebrated individuals. Theae are recorded with unconventional ti'Jiplicity and terseness of diction, proving clearly by internal cvi dance that they weire the impressions of tha moment, and neither ehborated nor attenuated for the publio eye. Lord Malmaabury went through the customary aristocratic course of teaching in his day, and after finishing at Eton was entered at Oriel Collage, Oxford. One of the tutors there in his day waa Mr Newman,of whom ha says: — " Of this colabraled writer and divine, and now a cardinal, no one at that time would havo predicte.d tha future career. Ha used to allow his clasa to torment him witb the most helpless resignation ; every kind of mischievous trick was, to onr shame, played upon him—ouch as cutting his bell-rope, and at lectures making hia table advance gradually till ba was jamb3d into a corner. He remained quite impassive, and painfully tolerant. I i nee saw him nearly driven from Coplestona'a t^ble, when the Provost, who was an Gpicure, upbraided him for what he called ' inutilatiDg' a five haunch of venison, and ahouting rut, 'Mr Nov.inau, you are unconscious of tbe mischief you bavo done !'" HaviDg gone through bis Oxford course and taken his degree, Lord Malmesbury went for the usual " grand tour,'' without whicb at that time tho education of no youthful aristocrat was considered complete. Iv 1829, being in Italy, he met the Countess Guiccioli, whope romantic connection with Byron made her still a notability in the not too strait-laced society of Rune and Florence. He gives a very interesting description of her : - " Her taca was handsome, with a briUiaut complexion aod blua eye 3, aud full of animation, showing splendid teelh when she laughed, which she was doing heartily at the time I remarked her. When she rote from her chair I saw she wa?- of small stature, although with perfect shoulders, and a bust made for a much taller woman. . . Byron had been dead only five years, and she was then 20. We became great friends, and I found her a charming companion, with a cultivated mind, yet with all the natural bonhomie of her race, and fond of fun. She hid got over her grief (which I heard was very violent at first) for the loss of her poet, and she liked to talk of him and his eccentricities, but was very proud of her conquest. ... In roferouca to Byron s iamous poam, (' Dm Jura'), she told me thit ha wroto all tha laat c.iutos on playbills, soma of which I saw myself, or on any bad piece of paper at hand, and with repeated glasses of giu punch by his side. He then used to rush out of his room to read to her what he had written, making many alterations and laughing immoderately. She was very proud and fond of him, but described him as having a capricious temper, and with nothing of tbe passionwhich pervades hia prreiry, and which ho was in tho habit of ridiculing—in fact, with a cold tempsrament. ... It was sui prising to sea the number of letters wriiten to bim by women cft-mng themselves to him on any tarmn Madamo Guiccioli had a very large boxful of theae opistlas, which she never answered. Thay woro mostly from English laiiroi, such was tho folly and enthusiasm which his verses inspired ft the time." L-ird Malmesbury waa on intimato terms with L-'u'.s N tpoleon from bis youth upwards. H-i understood tho complexities of his character better than nuyEigli-h statesiuan.-and w.is consequently always able to mako a bettor limloi bim than eithor hia eol!«*gues or his opponouts. Ho first met liim at Rjuie in lbjll, ai; the house of Q.ieen Hortcn>e, whom ho describes as bring a most fascinating woman, though past middle lite. Her biuee was the resort of the intransigeants of both sexes, and amid an atmosphere of plots and conspiracies Louis Napoleon spent his most impressionable years; — , "Ha was a wiid, harum soarnm youth, or whit tha French call un crane, riding at full gallop down tbe streets to the peril of tho public, fencing, and pistol-shooting, and apparently witbeu- serious thoughts ot any kind, although even then he was possessed or tne conviction that ho would some day rule over F.-ance. We bacriwo friends, but at that time ho evinced uo particular talent or any faxed idea but (he ova I mention. He was a very good horseman, and proficient at athletic games, baiuir shirt, but very active and muscular. His face was grave and dark, but redeemed by a singularly bright smile. In IS3O Lord Malmesbu-y, who wm than 23 years of a^e, returned to England, nnd having mixed a good deal with foreign statesmen duriu" his travel* abroad, began to intorest himself iv foreign pelirics. Hewent greatly into society in London and Paris, and relates many very piquant anecdotos of great persouages, some of them, indeed, iv their hroadnessbatraying the effects of the writer's French descant aud early education. At thia point the book, which had previously beena/ummary ot tim entries iv tba rliary, now takes the form of ilia diaiy itself. Its interest never tLvga for r.'fi inslar.-t, ncr could the reader say that there

ia a singlo extract that might "have been omitted. Taking anything almost at random, ho finda such racy bits an these:—

" Wo dined with the Ssbastianis, the Frencfr j Ambaisadir. He was employed by Napoleon; I , l:Clh in the army and diplomacy, and bad * high reputation. Ho has married L.idy, Tanker- ! villa's sister •.iriinS'of Lady Malmesbury). H» li* extremely pompjiis, and a boas-.ter. After I bring hoaten by W_sllir.gt.on at; Talavera, hi» i mother used to ee.y to him : ■..Won Ji!.* rcsf.cmhle \ ii tin dc sen lamlours—plus it a? baliw, plus il \ fnitti.a brail ' Mr Noilon cnmti to. Madame I Seb.u.tif.m'a parly, wishing, I f.uppc»e, to tell j tha world. She talked in a most extraordinary ■ manner, and f.ie'-.'J-J Lord Mor.ouvmo a bat ! over ien head. Tils'?.hole corps dii-lcmatique i were piin: zed." '. _ Ho doea not appear to havo be;n too favourably impressed with the celebrated: buauty, • Further on he saya : — ! "Wo found bar very amusicg and agreeable, [ but her beauty, her manners, and her conversation are all of the most masculine character; and the latter is often coarser than even a man should use." Of the immortal tragedienne Rachel we hay a still more unflattering picture. Havicg aeea her in Bajazet, ha writes :— " She acts very finely, but her voice bag grown liko that of a man, and she has loßt all professions to good looks. Her countenance has become ro diabolical and unfeininine that it ia quite disagreeable to look at her." Amongst other remarkable women, there is an interesting Bketch of tha famous adventurosu i Lola Montez, who became mistress of the King of Bavaria, and was by him created Countess of Landufcld. Infatuated by her beauty acd cleverness, ha was erompletely governed by her, and did nothing without her sanction. She mada him change bis Ministers thitie limes iv one year, because they had io somo way offended her, and ruled the kingdom so despotically that she was at last driven from Muuicn by the emsged populace. Apropos of Court society in Spnio in the days'of Queen Isabella, the following' is an extract from ona of Lord Canning's letters: — " Whenever one aßka at the opera, or at Court, or, indeed, anywhere, who such-and-such a lady ia, the answer ia always io ttie aame form: She is the wife of D , the daughter of C , and Mr So and-So is he* lover* It is really no e:j{rgjratioa :fo say that thia is invariable, I have met with only one exception, and tbat ia the wife of Sotomaynr, who was in London, and who has Anglo-S.ixon blood in him, and may, therefore, be considered as not in point, but nobody believes that oven in his ease sucfi a state of things can laat. lam convinced that if a peerage were published in Madrid, aB in London, the name of tbe hippy individual would be put down aa much as a matter of course as if it were tha motto or country seat of the family," An amusing areedote was related to tha author by hia father in law (Lord Taukerville) respecting Sir Philip Fiaocia.' It was supposed he intended his name to be disclosed after his death, and had left papers establishing his identity with "Junius," but thay wera destroyed by his son-in-law. He disliked to be asked questions on the subject. Oue evening at BroikV, the conversation haviugf fallen on a book juat published which proved Francis to ba ''Junius," Rogers, the poet, went up to him, and said, " Sir Philip, will you allow me to ask you a question ?" to which the other replied, very fiercely, " Yes, eir, at your peril!" Upon wbich Rogers turned round to someone near bim, and said, ''If be_ is 'Junius,' he is Junius Brutus." Sir Philip uaed to say that ho nad writt.n memoirs which? lie meant to be published r( ter hia death, which would be tho ruin of every lady in society, and have the effect of destroying all.filiation, as h» clearly proved that not a single peraon.was tha son of his reputed father : — " Needlos3 to say, Sir Philip did not carry out, hia dire threat". It may be assumed, too, that he left no such memoirs, for if he had . they would have beeu too valuable a possession to share the fate of hii other papers.' " Lord Maline:-bury gives a capital sketch of a visit ha paid ro Louis Napoleon when he had been for years in priion at Ham. He Was its good spirits, but was weary of his confinement* He cow no chance of escaping, as he believed the Frerrch Government gave him opportunities »f attempting it, co that they might shoot hinr in the act. He de&iied Lo-d M.-l eejbuiy to intercede with Louis Phiilipi c for his release, so that he might undertake the Pieridency of the Republic of Ecuador, which a deputation had come to offer b:'m_ He was willirg to give hu parole that he would never return to .Bur&p?. However, Lord Aberdeen, the then Foreign Minister, could not ba convinced of the utility of the scheme, and it fell through, sparirg Louis Napoleon for a greater though au unhappier fa'e. When he did eventually make bis escape, Lord Malmesbury was the firet person iv London he made aware of tie fart, and he always received him on terms of intimacy and friendship at the Court of the Tuileries. Ot this brilliaut assemblage Lord Mulmefibmy talis some of bis most amudng stories. In 1861 ho mat Garibaldi, then iv London, and thus describes the bero of the hour: -

"I dined with tha Clanricardes, to meet Garibaldi, ond im.iked a cigar with him after dinner. He speke very sensibly, and, far from seeming proud ot the fuss that was made with bim, he said be feared it might become ridiculous. Sir Robert Peel, talking of Rome, said that ho did not think it possiole to get rid of the Papacy; thai GariLaldi might drive tha Pope out of Rome, but another would be elected as long.as the Roman Catholic religion existed, Gnribaleii replied, 'Vous Vavcz Men fait, cependattt.' Again, someone said that tha career of tbe pietnt Emperor Napoleon was a more successful one than that of tbe first. Garibaldi answered, 'Ilfaut attendreia fiii-J " So on with all tho othor reuiaika'ble tu-.n aad women of tho day, we havo some ttoiy about each, which is generally amusing, and always now. The author ia to bn fairly congratulated on the success of his work, which may be pronounced tha boi-k of the yoar, and is decidedly tbo most valuable contribution to the social and political hi-toiy of England during the laat 40 yeara thut h -.>. sen the light since the publication of He-rry Grevi'le's diary.—Home Newe,