Chapter XXVI: Introduction (3)

Educated at Eton, where he obtained the “Newcastle Scholarship.” Subsequently proceeded to King’s College, Cambridge. In 1837, called to the bar. Is Professor of History in University College, London, and the author of some able historical works.

[By E. G. Papworth, jun., by whom it is presented to the Crystal
Palace.]

446. JUDGE HALIBURTON. _Lawyer and Writer._

[Still living.]

Off the bench, better known under his assumed name of “Sam Slick.” He is a judge of Nova Scotia. In 1835, first appeared in a Canada paper as the author of a series of letters, illustrating the Yankee character. In 1842, was Attaché in England to the American Legation; one result of this appointment was the publication of “Sam Slick in England.” Sam’s pen continues from time to time to enliven and amuse the world, and to set it broadly grinning. He has infinite humour, a rollicking, racy, uncontrolled style, an exuberance of animal spirits, great acuteness, much worldly sagacity, and marvellous good sense under all his fun. A genial satirist, and one of those who have the best succeeded in making the low, corrupted, half-provincial, and half-slang language of an inferior social class serve literary use.

[By J. E. Jones.]

447. EDWARD FORBES. _Naturalist._

[Born at Douglas, Isle of Man, 1815. Still living.]

One of the most eminent of our scientific men, remarkable for his originality, sagacity, lucid research, and general scientific attainments. Studied at Edinburgh, and afterwards lectured there on Natural History. Joined, in 1841, the Hydrographical Survey of the Ægean, under Captain Graves, R.N., and made important discoveries respecting the laws of bathymetrical distribution of marine animals and plants. In 1842, explored the antiquities, geology, and natural history of Lycia. During this expedition the sites of eighteen ancient cities were brought to light. In 1845, appointed Naturalist to the Geological Survey of the United Kingdom, and in 1851, a Professor of the Government School of Mines. President of the Geological Society, one of the Royal Commissioners of the Great Exhibition, and author of numerous works and memoirs on geological, zoological, and botanical subjects. In 1854, upon the decease of Professor Jameson, raised to the Chair of Natural History in the University of Edinburgh.

[By E. H. Baily, R.A.]

SOLDIERS AND STATESMEN.

448. WILLIAM MURRAY, EARL OF MANSFIELD. _Lord Chief Justice._

[Born at Perth, in Scotland, 1704. Died in 1793. Aged 88.]

This great lawyer and upright man was the fourth son of David, Lord Stormont. In 1718, being thirteen years old, he travelled to London on the back of a pony, and went to Westminster school. In 1723, he proceeded to Oxford. At both places of learning he was distinguished for his industry and classical attainments. Afterwards entered at Lincoln’s Inn, and in 1730 was called to the bar. He gradually made his way upward. In 1742, Solicitor General; 1744, Chief Justice of the King’s Bench; 1776, advanced to the dignity of an Earl. Other events are worthy of record. During the Gordon Riots of 1780, the Protestant mob, thinking him favourable to the Catholics, burned his house to the ground, and cruelly destroyed a valuable collection of books and manuscripts. He was the principal victim of the merciless assaults of Junius; and he is remembered in the law books, as the chief justice who, in the celebrated case of “Rex _v._ Almon,” arising out of one of Junius’s Philippics, attempted in vain to withdraw the cognisance of the question of libel from the jury, to vest it in the court. In politics Lord Mansfield was a Tory; as a judge he recognised nothing but his duty to his sovereign and his country; and he must always be regarded as one of the greatest men that have adorned the judgment-seat in England. He possessed an amazing clearness of apprehension, vast learning, and marvellous perspicuity of exposition. His love of justice was the sole passion that absorbed his otherwise calm nature, and his integrity was spotless. In law, as in religion, the mind of Mansfield was essentially liberal. It was a saying of Burke’s that Murray--superior to the technicalities of his profession--still made the liberality of law keep pace with the demands of justice and the actual concerns of the world, conforming our jurisprudence to the growth of our commerce and of our empire. He was thus the founder of the commercial law of England, which before his time had no existence. Brave as a lion on the bench, Mansfield exhibited unaccountable timidity as a statesman. He quailed before Lord Chatham, whose schoolfellow he had been, and who mercilessly opposed him from the school to the grave. The illustrious rivals now lie quietly side by side in Westminster Abbey.

[From the statue in Westminster Abbey. Executed in 1801 by Flaxman.]

449. WILLIAM PITT, EARL OF CHATHAM. _Statesman._

[Born 1708. Died at Hayes, in Kent, 1778. Aged 70.]

A grand Minister, an idol in the memory of the nation, but failing in some of the elements of true greatness, for he was haughty, overbearing, inconsistent, insolent, obstinate, and petty. The statesman who would never be seen on business, except in a full dress coat and tie wig--who never allowed the highest considerations to interfere with his constant study of effect--who, in opposition, anathematized men for attempting that which he himself, in power, was the very first to carry out--who never suffered his under secretaries to sit in his presence--who never blushed at the most barefaced and vehement self-contradiction, can hardly be ranked with the very highest characters that adorn the pages of History. Yet he was superb withal, and potent in his influence upon the age in which he lived. He had tremendous earnestness; his thoughts blazed in his mind, and were communicated in burning words to his listeners. He had the faculty of uttering great truths, in language that carried not only conviction to every understanding, but enthusiasm to every soul. He had a noble person--an eye like an eagle’s--a voice of thunder. His oratory was splendid, and his speeches maintained some of their power when transferred to paper. He was always terrific. He began his career as a Cornet in the Blues, and entering Parliament as member for Old Sarum, in 1735, he so astonished Sir Robert Walpole by the violence of his assault, that the astute Minister was fain to intreat some one “to muzzle that terrible Cornet of horse.” The great glory of Chatham, as Minister, consists in the war policy which he advocated and upheld to the great advantage and pre-eminence of his country. In spite of all his errors he was adored by the people. He could feel and act with true nobility, and the multitude were touched by the lofty sentiments by which he was himself animated. Almost his whole fortune consisted of private benefactions. The Duchess of Marlborough left him £10,000, and Sir William Pynsent bequeathed him £3000 a year, and £30,000 in ready money. He opposed the war with America, but with his latest breath denied the right of the colony to independence. Whatever he did, he was still the most popular man in England. Proud and domineering as he was in public, his private character, as Lord Chesterfield declared, “was stained by no vices, and sullied by no meannesses.” In his own household, by his children and dependents, he was beloved for his gentle kindness. The statue before the visitor is highly characteristic of the man. “Graven by a cunning hand,” says Macaulay, “it seems still with eager face and outstretched arm, to bid England be of good cheer, and to hurl defiance at her foes.”

[The original model of the statue by J. Bacon, R.A., in Westminster
Abbey. It will be found at the South end of the Nave.]

450. EDMUND BURKE. _Orator, Writer, Statesman._

[Born at Dublin, 1730. Died 1797. Aged 67.]

Coleridge, speaking of Edmund Burke, has said that “he referred habitually to principles--he was a scientific statesman.” He is by far the most philosophic politician that ever dealt with public affairs in England. He takes rank with those who have applied their genius to the transactions of their own fleeting day, in order to extract from them truth, wisdom, and instruction for all ages. Gifted with gorgeous eloquence, he spake like a prophet. We read his words, which we are told fell as he uttered them upon dull insensate ears, and are astounded to find how nearly, under altered circumstances, they concern ourselves. Our descendants shall peruse the same syllables with the same living interest, desire, and benefit. Châteaubriand has asserted that when Fox spoke in the House of Commons, he and all strangers could not keep back their tears. When Burke rose, the act was a signal for general flight. We can understand the difference. Burke walked sublimely in advance of his contemporaries; Fox was abreast of them, sharing in their prejudices, and, it may be, inflaming their passions. Burke had great knowledge of men and books, an imagination rich to overflowing, and although a philosopher and a theorist, business-like habits. His genius was unmatched in the House of Commons, and his industry did not fall short of that of the most plodding member of that assembly. He was the son of a Dublin attorney, and in early life found favour with Lord Rockingham, who, bringing him into Parliament, allied him to the Whig interest. The connexion was subsequently broken off, when. Burke, in alarm at the frightful results and portents of the French Revolution, strove to preserve Liberty by holding her back from the too ardent embrace of her professed friends. His “Reflections on the French Revolution” was the most memorable treatise of the time; and it was followed by others as remarkable for splendid diction, as for the profoundest philosophical thought. When starting into life, Burke wrote his celebrated essay on “the Sublime and Beautiful,” and set on foot the “Annual Register,” the historical portion of which he wrote for many years. He would have been raised to the peerage but for the premature death of his only son, of whom he was very fond. His character has been variously estimated. There is no reason to doubt that he was as conscientious, as honest, and as sincere, as he was mighty in his high mental endowments.

[By Christopher Moore, 1850.]

451. GEORGE WASHINGTON. _First President of the United States._

[Born in Virginia, United States, 1732. Died, 1799. Aged 67.]

If we were asked to single out from ancient or modern story one bright unsullied example of true greatness, of perfect patriotism, disinterestedness, consistency, and self-devotion, it would be difficult not to select George Washington. England, that suffered by his acts, has reason to be proud of his surpassing glory; for he came from the common stock, and he wrought the liberty of his country by the exercise of virtues dear to all Englishmen, and--let us dare to say--characteristic of their race. He received the most ordinary education, for he lost his father when ten years old; and he had to make his way in life by his own best efforts. At the age of eighteen he was appointed surveyor, in Virginia, to Lord Fairfax. At twenty he was Major in the colonial militia. In 1775, he took the command of the army in America against England. How he acted from that hour until 1783, when the treaty of peace was signed,--what intrepidity he exhibited,--what wisdom, what coolness, what courage, what moderation, what rare self-command under defeat, for, fighting at great disadvantage, he lost more battles than he gained,--is known to all. In 1789, he was elected President of the United States. As chief of the government, he declined all remuneration, save the bare payment of his official service: he had shown the same abstinence when in command of the army. In 1796, worn out by the labours and anxieties of his momentous life, he laid down his power and withdrew into privacy; but not until he had delivered to the American people, as his last public work, his solemn advice for their future self-government and conduct. His words of weight may be read to-day with singular advantage by the millions who enjoy the inappreciable blessings of freedom and prosperity, which his good right hand, sound heart, and sagacious judgment, chiefly secured to them. If hero-worship may be pardoned, he shall be forgiven--for his offence shall induce in him only humility--who kneels before the quiet, unpretending shrine of Washington.

[By Canova.]

451*. WARREN HASTINGS. _Statesman._

[Born 1732. Died 1818. Aged 86.]

Descended of an ancient and honoured line, seated at Daylesford, in Worcestershire, but ruined by taking the King’s side in the civil war. The boy, motherless, from his birth, and left in the hands of his grandfather, the impoverished incumbent of the parish, was sent early to the village school, and taught his letters with the peasantry. At seven years old, as he basked on the bank of the little stream that ran through the domain of his fathers, the thought of repossessing the lost inheritance broke on his imagination. The vision of the child was the single personal aim of the man’s life. What a life, ere the vision took reality! At 10 he was placed at Westminster school, at 17 he sailed with a writership for Bengal. His courage and intelligence, when the English authorities had fled from Calcutta, with his services in Clive’s army, raised him rapidly to distinction, and in ten years after setting foot on Indian ground, he was member of Council. At 32, he returned, with a moderate fortune, to England: and--that given and spent--at 36, back to India. At 40, Governor of Bengal. At 41, Governor-General. Ere the five years of his appointment had elapsed, he was more! He had overthrown his mortal foes in the Council: and was Lord Paramount of British India. In his 53rd year, his reign ceased. What had it been? With a resolution which no dangers and no difficulties could daunt, with a genius for resource, fertile in proportion to the demand, with a sagacity that disabled opposition and commanded success, with a self-possession calm in every tempest, he had taken in hand a set of provinces imperilled by their disorganization and by terrible enemies: and he left a constructed and fortified empire. What had been his means? Good and ill. He had stood between the rapacious rulers and the feeble ruled, and was alike beloved by both. A civilian, he held the heart and allegiance of the army. But in India he had used Indian powers. He had not amassed money corruptly, but he had corrupted with it. He had extorted treasure, he had broken faith, he had authorized and instigated cruelty, he had violated justice to shed guilty blood, he had held the ordinary moral laws suspended, for the safety and the aggrandizement of the dominion committed to his sway. Called to answer before the highest tribunal in the land, by all the intellect, eloquence, and power of a great party in Parliament, he was acquitted after a process of unheard-of duration, reaching through many years: but ruined by the costs. Partially compensated by the India House he retired to the ancestral home which, according to his early resolve, he had taken care to secure. Here for years he lived a tranquil, happy life in the midst of books, which he loved, and of endeavours to improve English cultivation from his experience in India.

[By J. Bacon, R.A.]

452. CHARLES JAMES FOX. _Statesman._

[Born 1748. Died 1806. Aged 58.]

This great orator and popular statesman, like his rival William Pitt, was trained from his youth for political life. He was the son of Henry, first Lord Holland, and received his education at Westminster, Eton, and Oxford. His acquaintance with ancient and modern literature was extensive, his taste highly cultivated, and his literary ability great. Had he not been a politician, he might have won high distinction as a scholar; or, had he not been constitutionally indolent, have reflected lustre upon his public deeds by labours in more classic fields. There was a difference of ten years in the ages of Pitt and Fox; Pitt being the younger man. Both were second sons: both had been sedulously prepared for the great arena by their ambitious fathers. Pitt began his work as a Reformer, but quickly turned aside into the ranks of the Tories. Fox, starting into life under the wing of his Tory parent, spoke and voted against Wilkes; but quickly repenting of his act, threw himself into the arms of the Whigs. And then the battle between the two rare combatants was well fought out unto the end--Pitt dying in harness in 1806, Fox following him the very same year. Fox was a Liberal, as the name was in his time understood by the great Whig families--an aristocrat with popular ideas, sympathizing with progress, but holding fast to the pillar of the constitution, every stone of which he jealously upheld. On every great subject he stood opposed to Pitt; he inveighed bitterly against the war with France, as he had formerly steadily opposed the rupture with the American Colonies. He was a speaker of extraordinary power; his oratory being bold, argumentative, impassioned, and unpremeditated. His followers were attached to his person, and in private life he was beloved, for he had an affectionate and noble nature, clouded by sad weaknesses. He was a desperate gamester, and a lover of pleasure to excess. At St. Ann’s Hill, withdrawn from the heat of conflict and dissipation, to his quiet and beloved garden--to his friends and his books, he was more faithful to himself, and to the good gifts of Providence within him.

[By I. Nollekens, R.A.]

453. JOHN PHILPOT CURRAN. _Lawyer._

[Born near Cork, 1750. Died in London, 1817. Aged 67.]

Of very humble parentage. Obtaining a sizarship, he received his education at Trinity College, Dublin, free of expense. He went to London, and entered himself as student at one of the Inns of Court. Called to the bar in 1775. His brilliant qualities soon brought him into notice. He was employed to defend various persons charged with political offences, and his eloquence, his wit, his withering sarcasm, and touching pathos, carried all before them. In 1784, he obtained a silk gown, and took his seat in the Irish House of Commons as member for Doneraile. When the Whigs came into office in 1806, he was made Master of the Rolls in Ireland. This office he held until 1814, when he resigned it and secured a pension of 3000_l._ a-year. He then visited England, and took up his residence in London, where he died. He was a popular advocate, and a most successful debater. His personal appearance was as deficient in grace as his intellectual powers were splendid. His country, which loved him when living, lamented him when dead, and perpetuated her love and her grief by the erection of a public monument to his memory.

[By Christopher Moore. 1841. Executed for his monument in St.
Patrick’s Cathedral, Dublin.]

454. LORD ELDON. _High Chancellor of England._

[Born 1751. Died 1838. Aged 87.]

A great lawyer. His legal learning, it is said, has never been surpassed, If it has been equalled. For many years of his long life he sat on the judgment seat, and in the councils of his Sovereign. But the fame of Eldon as a politician has not survived him. He was narrow-minded and narrow-hearted. Lord Brougham has summed up his political faith when he says, “he was alike the determined enemy of all who would either invade the institution, or extirpate the abuse.” He worshipped things as they were. Whatever existed--whether a rotten borough, a sanguinary enactment, or an unjust civil disability--to the mind of Lord Eldon it formed part of the “British Constitution,” and that Constitution had in his eye a sanctity, like religion. No argument was admitted against this iron and immovable belief. Hence, though all men respected his sincerity, all enlightened men pitied his bigotry, and felt it as a public relief when he departed in his ripe old age. He was the last great man of the remorselessly obstructive school to which he belonged. As Lord Chancellor, his decisions have obtained great respect, but he was generally so long in arriving at them, and hesitation and doubt formed so marked a characteristic of his judicial character, that the pecuniary losses and human misery for which he became responsible were considerable. Lord Eldon was of humble origin, and his chances of promotion seemed in early life so remote, that he was actually at the minute of quitting London in despair when he received the brief that took him on to fortune.

[By Chantrey.]

455. HORATIO NELSON. _Lord High Admiral._

[Born at Burnham-Thorpe, in Norfolk, 1758. Died at Trafalgar, 1805.
Aged 47.]

The most famous of sea-captains, and the darling of his country. He fought the sea-half of the world’s greatest war. England has a just pride in her Wellington, whose memory she honours. Towards Nelson she looks with a tenderer recollection, and her heart moves when she thinks of his services and renown. As Captain in 1794, he conducted a siege at Calvi, and lost an eye. In 1797, crying to his men “Westminster Abbey or glorious victory,” he captured the San Jose and San Nicolas, at the battle of St. Vincent. In the same year he lost his right arm at Teneriffe, and twelve months afterwards he received a wound in his head at the glorious victory of the Nile. There was in truth very little left of the man--yet all of the hero--when, in 1805, a cruel shot at the battle of Trafalgar, killed him in the very hour of triumph to his fleet, of delivery to his country. His death was felt in England as a personal, as well as national calamity, and was mourned by the whole people as by one man. Gentle as a woman; brave as a lion; devoted to his country; fighting her battles with a passionate ardour that consumed and obliterated all personal considerations; loyal; pious;--these are some of the qualities that combined to form the character of Horatio Nelson. He was always insignificant in person; and after his slender frame had been battered about by the enemy, his appearance in the honoured uniform which, his services had won, was most singular and striking; for he looked like a skeleton clothed in cumbrous magnificence. Yet the influence of this reduced, war-beaten figure was electrical. All who came within its atmosphere partook of its own nature. The followers of Nelson could and did achieve miracles, because they had unbounded faith in the power of their chief--in his heroism, resolution, and determination at all times to win. Nelson was beloved by his sailors. He lies buried in St. Paul’s.

456. WILLIAM PITT. _Statesman._

[Born at Hayes, in Kent, 1759. Died 1806. Aged 47.]

It has been well said that the life of William Pitt, the second and favourite son of the magnificent Earl of Chatham, had neither springtime nor autumn. It knew neither the fresh delights of boyhood, nor the tranquil happiness of age. His father had trained him from his very childhood, like an athlete, for the feverish arena of politics. Before he was twenty-one, he stood a gladiator armed; and from that age until his comparatively early death he knew no rest. He was twenty-four--a period at which our English youth are quitting college, and looking around them for a profession--when he became Prime Minister of England. For seventeen years, in the midst of broil and battle, of discontent at home and warfare abroad, this great man held the place which his eagle ambition had chosen for its eyrie on the rock, defying opposition by his commanding eloquence, by the fertility and grandeur of his resources, by his singular financial ability, and by his unquenchable energy. In 1801, he descended from his lofty seat in order to make way for a Minister of peace; but in 1804, all hope of peace being blasted, he was again summoned to direct the councils of the nation, and again he exercised all his varied powers for the development and consummation of the policy, which, right or wrong, he deemed essential to the safety of England, and to the tranquillity and freedom of the world. Two years after his return to office, he fell a victim to his life-long labours and to an hereditary gout, nourished by intemperate habits. It is somewhat curious that Pitt, the cherished head of the aristocratic and Tory party, had expressed himself in favour of nearly all the principles which the liberals of subsequent times have struggled, not fruitlessly, to uphold. He was friendly to Church Reform, to Financial Reform, to Parliamentary Reform, and to the removal of disabilities on account of religious belief. He died at the same age as Lord Nelson; and as to Lord Nelson, so to him, a public funeral was decreed. The sum of forty thousand pounds also was voted to pay his debts. Whatever had been the faults of Pitt, he was not avaricious. He had made no money by the State, for he had ever been the most unostentatious of men. The character of his eloquence was unlike that of his father. It was logical, dignified, equable: now rising into indignant invective, and now taking the shape of the keenest and most cutting sarcasm; but always self-possessed. It did not burst in torrent from an overflowing fount of wrath and passion like the submerging oratory of Chatham. The form of Pitt was gaunt, his countenance harsh, and his action ungraceful. He was, in many respects, one of the greatest Ministers our country has ever seen. His rapid comprehension was well described by his tutor, who said that he seemed to him to justify the doctrine of Plato, that the act of learning is reminiscence only, and not acquisition. He was the favourite of the nation: Fox of a party.

[By J. Nollekens, R.A.]

457. GENERAL JACKSON. _President of the United States._

[Born in South Carolina, U.S., 1767. Died at Nashville, in Tennessee,
1845. Aged 78.]

The son of an Irish emigrant. He was originally destined for the Church: but he quitted school to take part in the War of Independence. The war over, he adopted the law as a profession, and became judge in Tennessee, as well as Major-General of the Forces of the same state. In 1815, as Major-General of the United States, he gained a decisive victory over the English at New Orleans. In 1821, appointed Governor of Florida, and the next year elected member of the Senate for the state of Tennessee. Elected President of the United States in 1828 and again 1832; so that he was at the head of the American government for the space of eight years. An ardent democratic chief throughout life. His presidency was distinguished by the development of democratic tendencies, of the spirit of territorial extension, and by the marked encouragement of the slave-holding interest. He successfully opposed Congress in the matter of the United States Bank, regarding it as a monopoly in the State injurious to the general interests of the people. Jackson was a man of Roman virtues, a true patriot, and of uncompromising integrity, simple, and austere. Straightforward and blunt as a soldier.

[By Hiram Powers.]

458. HENRY WILLIAM PAGET, MARQUIS OF ANGLESEY. _English Field Marshal._

[Born 1768. Died 1854. Aged 86.]

A distinguished, brave, and gallant military commander. In 1793, served in Flanders. Later, won honour in Spain, especially by the skill with which he covered General Moore’s retreat. At Waterloo, where he commanded the whole British cavalry, he lost a leg. He was member of the government under Canning, and in 1828--a memorable epoch--Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland. Again held this appointment under Lord Grey, in 1831.

[By Christopher Moore. 1840. Executed for W. H. Curran, Esq.]

459. ARTHUR, DUKE OF WELLINGTON. _Soldier and Statesman._

[Born in Ireland, 1769. Died at Walmer Castle, 1852. Aged 83.]

The third son of the Earl of Mornington, and of Anna, daughter of Viscount Dungannon. Received his early education at Eton--then studied at the military school of Angers, in France; and in 1787, entered an infantry regiment as Ensign. Later became by purchase Lieutenant-Colonel of the 33rd, and in that regiment took part in Holland in the campaign of 1794. His first great military exploit was at the beginning of the century, in India, where his brother was Governor-General, and where, fighting in the war against the Mahrattas, he annihilated at Assaye an army of 60,000 men, with only 12,000 troops. From this period until his defeat of the French army, and the overthrow of Napoleon on the field of Waterloo (1815), his career was a series of triumphs. Many comparisons have been made between Napoleon and Wellington; all are unnecessary, and from the purpose. There is no resemblance whatever in the two characters. If it is contended that Napoleon was the greatest military hero of his time, it is sufficient for the admirers of Wellington to state, that after the English captain had beaten, one upon another, the great Marshals of Napoleon, he conquered Buonaparte himself, and put an end for ever to his splendid authority and terrible misrule. Madame de Staël has said, speaking of Wellington, that “Never was so great a man made out of such small materials.” Another writer has remarked, that in him “common sense amounted to genius.” A third tells us that he accomplished everything by that system of self-subjugation which made every wish, desire, aim, and object of life subordinate to a paramount and an ever-present sense of duty. We may gather a notion of the true character of Wellington from such criticism. There was nothing brilliant and overpowering in his genius; but he commanded respect, and won greatness by the wisdom of his combinations, the steadiness of his will, the simplicity of his aim, and the pertinacity of his course--his mind being once made up as to the direction to be taken. Wellington had boundless influence over his men, because he had irresistible power over himself. He knew better than any other great captain what not to do: and having resolved upon the propriety of inaction, no consideration, no amount of obloquy, blame, or reproach, could incite him into action. When he undertook command in Portugal, it was his conviction that the enemy were to be finally defeated by a passive policy on his part at starting. For months, against general opinion, he persisted in that policy; and after it had succeeded beyond all expectation, once a-foot, he advanced resolutely with his troops, scoured Portugal and Spain, drove the French before him, followed them into France, and never slackened until he had caught Napoleon, and chained him to the rock of St. Helena. Into the field of politics Wellington brought the same policy to play. He knew when to act on the defensive, how long he might defend with safety, when it was prudent to retreat or capitulate upon honourable conditions. The life of Wellington, from his boyhood until his death, is an instructive lesson for his countrymen. His daily habits, as we all know, were of the simplest; and his business-like activity was the most remarkable characteristic of his old age. In manners Wellington was soldierly and rough, but he was fond of children. He had few intimate male friends, but he has left behind him a correspondence that shows the delight he took in opening his mind freely, on the most delicate questions of State policy, to more than one of the gentler sex. A great contemporary poet, a friend and warm admirer of Wellington, has said that this illustrious, and in many respects perfect man, had one infirmity that brought him down to the level of us all--“he could be angry.”

[By Henry Weigall. This was the last bust for which the Duke sat. It
was modelled in four sittings, the dates of which were August 6, 9,
11, and November 18, 1851.]

459A. ARTHUR, DUKE OF WELLINGTON. _Soldier and Statesman._

[Colossal Bust presented by the sculptor, H. Ross.]

460. JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. _President of the United States._

[Born at Boston, U.S., 1769, Died 1848. Aged 79.]

Educated in Europe. At a tender age, private secretary to the American Minister at St. Petersburgh. In 1794, appointed by Washington, Ambassador to the Hague. In 1809, Ambassador to the Court of Russia. Subsequently Ambassador in London. In 1825, President of the United States. His administration worthy of his life, which was pure, disinterested, and strictly honest. Upon his death in 1848, he left a reputation for integrity, independence, and manly straightforwardness, second only to that of Washington. His habits to the last simple and unostentatious, and his industry remarkable. His exterior was cold, but fire glowed within, for his nature was as earnest as his oratory was fierce. He had a tenacious memory, great knowledge, and the faculty of speaking forcibly, clearly, and to the purpose. One of the worthies of the Great Republic.

[By Hiram Powers.]

461. LORD MONTEAGLE. _English Peer._

[Born 1790. Still living.]

Comptroller-general of the receipt and issue of Her Majesty’s Exchequer. Before he was raised to the peerage, Lord Monteagle, as Mr. Spring Rice, sat in the House of Commons, and filled various offices of State--amongst others, that of Chancellor of the Exchequer.

[By Macdonald, of Rome.]

462. WILLIAM HUSKISSON. _Statesman and Financier._

[Born in Worcestershire, 1770. Accidentally killed, 1830. Aged 60.]

A distinguished statesman, whose commercial views, early in the present century, were considerably in advance of those of the political party to which he was attached, and who strongly advocated the principle of the measures carried at a later period by Sir Robert Peel. He served under Pitt, and afterwards was President of the Board of Trade. He was accidentally killed by a train, at the opening of the Manchester and Liverpool Railway.

[For account of this statue, the original of which is at Liverpool,
see Handbook of Modern Sculpture, No. 29.]

463. JOHN SINGLETON COPLEY, BARON LYNDHURST. _Ex-Chancellor of England._

[Born in Boston, U. S., 1772. Still living.]

The son of a celebrated painter. After having studied at Cambridge, where he took high mathematical honours, he was called to the bar, in 1804. In 1826, Master of the Rolls; in 1827, Lord Chancellor. Has held this last high office at three distinct periods of his life. Lord Lyndhurst is remarked for the extraordinary lucidity and quickness of his understanding. His mind has the utmost facility in grasping the most intricate and involved points of any case submitted to it; and his facility of exposition is as perfect as his perception is acute. Hence, though not the greatest of the lawyers who have dignified the woolsack, he has always been the most agreeable and popular of Lord Chancellors. He is eloquent without labour, and convincing without vehemence--in many respects a master of oratory. In his eighty-third year, his polished intellect has lost none of its lustre. It has all the vigour, in debate, which it possessed half a century ago. Lord Lyndhurst at first took side with the Liberal party in politics, but he soon became a follower of Sir Robert Peel, and with that Minister he remained to the last.

[By W. Behnes.]

464. LORD ASHBURTON. _English Peer._

[Born 1774. Died 1848. Aged 74.]

The head of the great mercantile house of Baring. As Ambassador to America during the government of Sir Robert Peel, Lord Ashburton concluded the treaty between England and the United States which settled the much-vexed “Oregon question.” His marriage with an American lady attached an interest to his person in America, and his high character gave him weight and authority at home.

[By Macdonald, of Rome.]

465. DANIEL O’CONNELL. _Orator and Lawyer._

[Born at Cahir, in Ireland, 1775. Died at Genoa, 1847. Aged 72.]

The great Irish agitator. A man of extraordinarily powerful talents and influence. His oratory, especially adapted to sway the hearts of an Irish multitude, obtained for him a rule throughout Ireland that has never been equalled. Thousands upon thousands of his fellow-countrymen were content to be governed by his will for good or for evil. The unprecedented opportunity was used by Daniel O’Connell, less for the advantage and happiness of his afflicted country, than for his own selfish ends. When the wrongs of Ireland clamoured loudly for redress, O’Connell was an agitator with a righteous cause sustaining his great eloquence. When those wrongs were in course of remedy--were remedied--he was still an agitator, but unsustained by any cause save that of his own pecuniary necessities. It is lamentable to think how much good might have been effected by the energies of O’Connell, and to what deplorable straits his policy had reduced Ireland before death took him from it. Had it been as much to his personal and pecuniary interest to render his country contented, peaceful, prosperous, as to keep her in a ferment of discontent, discord, and semi-rebellion, O’Connell would have proved one of the greatest benefactors of his kind. As it was, he left behind him a name, which is not uttered with opprobrium--simply because it is already nearly forgotten. The associations connected with his memory have nothing in common with the new epoch of tranquillity, order, and steady industry, upon which Ireland has entered. O’Connell was not so eloquent in the House of Commons as out of it. He was born for the multitude. His power of invective, his faculty of humour, his facility of illustration, his familiar tones, his burly form, his winning voice, were all elements that go to make up the successful demagogue.

[By J. E. Jones.]

466. JOSEPH HUME. _Political Reformer._

[Born at Montrose, 1777. Still living.]

Has sat in the House of Commons for upwards of forty years. Was educated for the medical profession, and is member of the Colleges of Surgeons of Edinburgh and London. Acted in India as Persian interpreter to the army, during the Mahratta war, from 1802 to 1807. Joseph Hume is a consistent Reformer, and by his steadiness, earnestness, and faithful adherence to the principles of his life, has secured the respect and good-will of all political parties. When he entered parliament, his views were considered extreme and theoretical. Many of these views have been gradually adopted by the leading statesmen of the time, and there is every probability that Mr. Hume will outlive all his grievances. He is a rigid economist, and a thoroughly honest politician.

467. HENRY, LORD BROUGHAM. _Lawyer, Statesman, Educator._

[Born 1779. Still living.]

A name that will be identified for ever with the advances in civilisation made in this country, during the first half of the present century. For the great reforms effected in our criminal law, for the impetus which has been given to education among all classes, we are chiefly indebted to the influence of Lord Brougham, and to the indomitable exertion of his strong, practical, energetic, and versatile mind. He has been Lord High Chancellor of England; but his legal attainments constitute his very smallest title to respect. He is a great orator, a man of science worthy of taking rank with scientific men, a metaphysician, an historian, an essayist. He has addressed himself to every branch of knowledge, and is distinguished in all. Before he was elevated to the peerage he was one of the foremost men in England, honoured for his resolute and fiery opposition to abuses of every kind, and beloved for his eager anxiety to remove the shackles from the negro, and every disability from the limbs of his fellow-creatures nearer home. Social elevation has not added to the popularity of Lord Brougham, for the ermine has in part withdrawn the idol from the people. All his magnificent qualities are depressed and dwarfed beneath his coronet. His eloquence is not so overpowering nor so thrilling, his sympathies for the classes below him are apparently deadened, his respect for his “order” proportionately increased. He has ceased to be “the first man” out of doors, without becoming the first lord within. If he has not survived his reputation he has manifestly damaged it. Yet for his former permanent and vital services to his country, his name shall be held by Englishmen in lasting, grateful, and affectionate remembrance.

[By Deer.]

467A. HENRY, LORD BROUGHAM. _Lawyer, Statesman, Educator._

[An admirable seated portrait statue, by E. G. Papworth, Sen., which
will be found at the South end of the Nave, Presented by the
sculptor.]

468. MARTIN VAN BUREN. _Ex-President of the United States._

[Born 1782. Still living.]

A lawyer, and an active politician in the democratic interest. From 1812 until 1820, a member of the United States Senate, during which time a keen supporter of the war with England, and, for a short period, Attorney-General. In 1828, Governor of the State of New York--then Secretary of State in the cabinet of General Jackson. Vice President in 1832, and during General Jackson’s second term of office. In 1836, elected President by a large majority. The principal measure of his administration was the re-establishment of the independent treasury. In 1840, again nominated for the Presidency, but defeated by General Harrison, the Whig candidate. Since the close of his presidential term in 1841, Mr. Van Buren has lived in retirement. His popularity was not so great at the close as at the beginning of his political life.

[By Hiram Powers.]

469. JOHN CALDWELL CALHOUN. _American Statesman._

[Born at Abbeville, in South Carolina, U.S. 1782. Died at Washington,
1850. Aged 68.]

Of Irish descent. Educated at Yale College, and studied law at Lichfield, in Connecticut. In 1807, admitted to the Bar. In 1811, elected to Congress. Secretary of War in 1817; and from 1825 to 1832, Vice-President of the United States. He asserted that the American constitution was a mere federal treaty, from the conditions of which an individual State might at any time withdraw itself, if the inhabitants of the State so desired. This dangerous principle was combated by Webster, and--luckily for the Union--with success. Calhoun had great eloquence, and rapid powers of generalisation. He was inflexible in integrity, firm of purpose, energetic, laborious, and endowed with a high sense of honour; devoted to his country, with an inextinguishable love of liberty. A moderate democrat, nevertheless, and a free-trader. In person he was tall and lank; his face indicated great firmness of character and determination. His manner of speaking and of gesticulation was remarkable. He would walk constantly up and down during his discourse, his right arm moving all the while regularly backwards and forwards, like the pendulum of a clock.

[By Hiram Powers.]

469.* DANIEL WEBSTER. _American Statesman and Orator._

[Born, in New Hampshire, U.S., 1782. Died 1852. Aged 70.]

Descended from one of those pilgrim-fathers of New England, who emigrated, in 1636. A lawyer. In 1813, took his seat in Congress for New Hampshire, war then raging with England. He advocated the war with fervid eloquence. In politics a “Whig,” a term corresponding to our “Conservative.” An avowed opponent of the Democratic party, but a still stronger friend to the true interests of his country, and, like our own Sir Robert Peel, preferring these to a dogged and an injurious persistance in his own preconceived political views. Hence, though no friend to slavery, Webster carried on no bitter crusade against it; and hence his conciliatory policy which, in dealing with the unhappy institution, maintained, through difficulty and danger, the political Union that contributes so largely to the strength and greatness of the American people. The oratory of Webster was of a high order: the most classical that America has yet displayed. It was powerful, argumentative, and as remarkable for passion, as for logical acumen. He was also a scholar, with a refined taste, and deeply attached to the literature of the old country. In person he was thick-set and burly. The countenance indicated force, without delicacy of taste and perception: but in this respect the countenance of Daniel Webster belied his mind. His death, at the close of a vehement career, was serene and happy.

[By Hiram Powers.]

470. SIR FREDERICK POLLOCK. _Chief Baron of the Exchequer._

[Born in London, 1783. Still living.]

Educated at Cambridge, where he obtained high mathematical distinction. Has been Attorney General.

[By W. Behnes.]

470.* SIR HENRY POTTINGER. _Diplomatist._

[Still living.]

Went to India as Cadet in 1804, and became Major-General in the East India Company’s service. During his long sojourn in India he fulfilled many appointments. In 1841, selected by the Government to proceed to China as Plenipotentiary and Envoy Extraordinary for the adjustment of the differences then existing between the two empires. Amongst his other rewards for his success in this mission, he received from the House of Commons a pension of 1500_l._ a-year. Afterwards Governor of the Cape of Good Hope: now Governor of Madras.

[By J. E. Jones.]

471. HENRY JOHN TEMPLE, VISCOUNT PALMERSTON. _Statesman._

[Born 1784. Still living.]

A Minister under many governments. Secretary-at-War from 1809 until 1828. Foreign Secretary, with a slight interval of repose, from 1830 until 1841. Again Foreign Secretary in 1846. At the present moment, Home Secretary in the administration of Lord Aberdeen. A statesman of vast knowledge and acquirements; of sterling business habits; quick and decided in action. An admirable debater, with a facile, ready, but not lofty eloquence. The upholder of constitutional government wherever his name and position have acquired influence in the world. Friendly to efforts made abroad for the recovery of liberty, he has been held in terror by those who would still keep liberty in chains. Of all living Ministers, Lord Palmerston is the most personally popular. He has served with many parties, and yet is no party man. The Whigs do not love him; the Conservatives cannot claim him; the Radicals own him not. Yet the eye of England glances involuntarily towards him as one with qualities to be exercised on great occasions, in the interests of his country. We cannot enumerate his followers; but his admirers are countless. He has many practical virtues that constitute a bond, uniting him to Englishmen, and make him an object of interest in the national mind. He is bold, outspoken, courageous, patriotic; genial in temper, and unaffected in intercourse. He has infinite “pluck.” When he strikes, he hits straight and effectually. In self-defence his “parry” is inimitable, and always successful.

[Executed in 1846 by Christopher Moore.]

472. SIR ROBERT PEEL. _Statesman._

[Born near Bury, in Lancashire, 1788. Died in London, 1850. Aged 62.]

The House of Commons was to Peel--what it had been to Pitt, his illustrious predecessor--his world of thought and action. Pitt was 20 when he took his seat in Parliament by the influence of Sir James Lowther. Sir Robert was 21 when he was returned for Cashel, by the influence of his father. Both lived, and, so to speak, died on that grand stage. If Pitt is to be recognised as the boldest and bravest Minister that ever conducted a country through the perils and disasters of a protracted war, Peel must be regarded as the most courageous statesman that ever dared to guide a busy nation through the peculiar dangers that environ a period of long peace. Pitt set up a principle of action as his guiding star, and steered his course by its light, against the bitterest opposition and the most vehement remonstrance, and died, still proclaiming the safety of his chosen path. Peel, in a later age, and under different circumstances, sacrificed, year after year, his strong convictions, in order to direct within safe channels the popular current which in spite of all his efforts to resist it, flowed on until it threatened to destroy and drown all obstacles--good or evil--that opposed its progress. Had Pitt lived in the days of Peel, his sagacity would have compelled the same policy. The proof of Peel’s sound wisdom was emphatically witnessed when he ceased to be Minister in 1846, but continued, until his cruel and untimely end, to exercise the greatest influence of all living men, over the destinies of his country. More potent than even the Prime Minister who had unseated him, was Sir Robert Peel, from 1846 until 1850. Many are the claims of Peel upon our gratitude. He reformed our criminal code; he advanced the cause of religious freedom; he repealed the corn laws. His attainments as a scholar were great, and he was a warm encourager of literature and art. His secret charities to men of genius--revealed since his death--declare the goodness of his heart. It is said that he had few friends in public life. It may be difficult for a politician to enjoy this luxury. In the bosom of his own family he was beloved.

[This fine colossal statue, which will be found at the south-west
angle of the great Transept and Nave, is by Baron Marochetti. It is
executed in bronze.]

473. SIR MICHAEL O’LOCHLEN. _Lawyer._

[Born 1789. Died 1842. Aged 53.]

A judge in Ireland, of high legal attainments, great practical knowledge, and unwearied industry. The first Roman Catholic created law officer of the Crown, and raised to the bench, since the Revolution of 1688. A member of the Church of Rome, he owed his promotion to the Liberal party. Appointed Attorney-General 1835, Baron of the Exchequer 1836, and Master of the Rolls 1837. He was earnest in his endeavours to promote the ends of justice, courteous in manners, and kind in disposition. All parties esteemed and admired him for his judicial conduct, and, after his decease, Lord Lyndhurst, a political opponent, paid a just and feeling tribute to his memory.

[By Christopher Moore, for the Incorporated Law Society of Dublin.]

474. LORD JOHN RUSSELL. _Statesman._

[Born 1792. Still living.]

The third son of the sixth Duke of Bedford. Has served many offices of state, amongst others that of Prime Minister of England. The recognised leader of the Whig party, and the representative of the school of Charles James Fox. The author of a work on the Constitution of England, of a tragedy, and of other books. The editor, also, of the Memoirs of Thomas Moore, the poet. Lord John Russell is considered one of our first constitutional statesmen. His course is not always so distinctly marked as to be obvious and intelligible to every looker-on. Now he is too liberal for Conservatives, now too conservative for Liberals; to-day he offends the lovers of religious toleration by his legislation against spiritual freedom; to-morrow he will distress bigotry by his zeal for religious independence. Yet Lord John is a man of mark and influence: and when he suffers his soul to be kindled into warmth, the sympathies of men rally involuntarily around him. The prominent feature in the character of this distinguished statesman, is the supreme absence of self-mistrust, be the matter in hand what it may.

475. DAVID SALOMONS. _Alderman._

[Born in London, 1797. Still living.]

The first Hebrew gentleman who has held civic appointment, and sat as member of parliament, though but for a day, in the House of Commons. Was elected sheriff of London in 1835, and alderman of Aldgate-ward in 1836; but could not take his seat in consequence of the existing state of the law, which practically excluded Jews. In the year 1844, elected alderman of the ward of Portsoken, but the election again annulled. The law having been altered by Sir Robert Peel’s government in 1847, elected without opposition, in that year, alderman of Cordwainers’ ward. In 1851, returned to parliament for the borough of Greenwich. Taking his seat, he maintained his right to remain there; but he was ordered to withdraw, the law of the land forbidding his presence until he could take the necessary oaths. The claims of the Jews to equal rights with their fellow citizens are identified with the name of David Salomons, as they have been maintained chiefly by his untiring exertions.

[From the marble by Edward Davis.]

476. SIR WILLIAM FOLLETT. _Lawyer._

[Born in Devonshire, 1798. Died in London, 1845. Aged 46.]

The most celebrated advocate of his time. Remarkable for the lucidity of his intellect, for his extensive and accurate legal knowledge, for his acute discrimination, his intuitive sagacity, and for his power of rapidly transferring his whole attention to anything that might be brought before it. His reasoning faculties were of the highest order, and his memory was singularly quick and retentive. His manner calm, dignified, and graceful, and his temper serene and unruffled. His labours at the bar were excessive, and prosecuted in the midst of pain and sickness. He died comparatively early, worn out by disease and work. He had served Her Majesty as Solicitor-General, and, had he lived, would inevitably have taken the highest position open to his profession.

[By W. Behnes.]

477. THE EARL OF DERBY. _Statesman._

[Born 1799. Still living.]

Has been Chief Secretary for Ireland, Secretary of State for the Colonies, and Prime Minister. Has served with the Whigs under Lord Grey, and with the Conservatives under Sir Robert Peel. Since the death of Sir Robert, has headed the extreme Tory party. Lord Derby is one of the readiest, most eloquent, clever, and fluent speakers in the House of Lords. When in the House of Commons, he was styled by Mr. Disraeli “The Prince Rupert of Debate.” As a lieutenant, he was brilliant, fierce, and irresistible in assault. As a leader, he did not discover the comprehensive grasp, the knowledge, and administrative skill of his illustrious predecessor and chief, Sir Robert Peel.

[By Christopher Moore. 1839. Executed for Lord Skelmersdale.]

478. GEORGE WILLIAM FREDERICK VILLIERS, EARL OF CLARENDON. _Statesman._

[Born 1800. Still living.]