t, so long as England was herself, secure him
for long an undisturbed political field, with no head raised against
him. A country like this is never so barren of political intellect and
courage as to admit of a long dictatorship in political life.

Walpole had already one rising rival in the person of Lord Carteret,
afterwards Earl of Granville. John Carteret was born April 22, 1690,
and was only five years old when the death of his father, the first
Lord Carteret, made him a member of the House of Lords. He
distinguished himself greatly at Oxford, and entered very early into
public life. He was from the beginning a favorite of George the First,
and by the influence of Stanhope was intrusted with various diplomatic
missions of more or less importance. In 1721 he was actually appointed
ambassador to the Court of France. The death of Craggs, the Secretary
of State, however, made a vacancy in the administration, and the place
was at once assigned to Carteret. Carteret was one of those men whose
genius we have to believe in rather on the faith of contemporary
judgment than by reason of any track of its own it has left behind.
The unanimous opinion of all who knew him, and more especially of those
who were commonly brought into contact with him, was that Carteret
possessed the rarest combination of statesmanlike and literary gifts.
Probably no English public man ever exhibited in a higher degree the
qualities that bring success in politics and the qualities that bring
success in literature. It seems strange to have to say this when one
remembers a man like Bolingbroke and a man like Burke; but it is
certain that neither Bolingbroke nor Burke could {234} boast of such
scholarship and accomplishments as those of Carteret. [Sidenote:
1723--Carteret's German] He was a profound classical scholar; he was a
master of French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, German, and Swedish.
His scientific knowledge was extraordinary for that time; he was a
close student of the history of past and passing time; he was deeply
interested in constitutional law, and had a passion for Church history.
He was a great parliamentary debater--some say he was even a great
orator. He was prompt and bold in his decisions; he was not afraid of
any enterprise; he was not depressed or abashed by failure; he could
take fortune's buffets and rewards with equal thanks. Large brains and
small affections are, according to Mr. Disraeli, the essential
qualitie