ned it. No
man could have promised less in the beginning. That was an acute
observer who divined the genius of Cromwell under Cromwell's homely
exterior when he first came up to Parliament. Almost as much acuteness
would have been needed to enable any one to see the future
Prime-minister of England and master of the House of Commons in the
plain, unpromising form, the homely, almost stolid countenance, the
ungainly movements and gestures of Walpole. Walpole was as much of a
rustic as Lord Althorp in times nearer to our own acknowledged himself
to be. Althorp said he ought to have been a grazier, and that it was
an odd chance which made him Prime-minister. But the difference was
great. Walpole had the gifts which make a man prime-minister, despite
his country gentleman or grazier-like qualities. It was not chance,
but Walpole himself which raised him to the position he came to hold.
Walpole knew nothing and cared nothing about literature and art. His
great passion was for hunting; his next love was for wine, and his
third for his dinner. Without any natural gift of eloquence he became
a great debater. {34} Nature, which seemed to have lavished all her
most luxurious gifts on Bolingbroke, appeared to have pinched and
starved Walpole. Where Bolingbroke was richest Walpole was poorest;
Bolingbroke's genius required a frequent rein; Walpole's intellect
needed the perpetual spur. Yet Walpole, with his lack of imagination,
of eloquence, of wit, of humor, and of culture, went farther and did
more than the brilliant Bolingbroke. It was the old fable of the hare
and the tortoise over again; perhaps it should rather be called a new
version of the old fable. The farther the hare goes in the wrong way
the more she goes astray, and thus many of Bolingbroke's most rapid
movements only helped the tortoise to get to the goal before him. In
1708 Walpole, now recognized as an able debater, a clever tactician,
and, above all things, an excellent man of business, was appointed
Secretary at War. He became at the same time leader of the House of
Commons. He was one of the managers in the unfortunate impeachment of
the empty-headed High-Church preacher, Dr. Sacheverell. He resigned
office with the other Whig ministers in 1710. Harley coming into power
offered him a place in the new administration, which Walpole declined
to accept. The Tories, reckless and ruthless in their majority,
expelled Walpole from the House in 1712 a