mes, and show him to be in the
political what Shakespeare was in the moral world. But his
writings, however as objects of study they may influence the
opinions or form the judgment of young men, would have no more
power than a piece of musty parchment to arrest the tide of
present violence, and superinduce reflection and calmness. A
speech of Tom Duncombe's would produce far greater effect than the
perusal of a discourse of Burke's. Wisdom never operates directly
on masses; it may work upon them through secondary and by indirect
means, but it cannot face the noise of actual contest, where
passion and not reason is always uppermost. Nobody but Burke could
have described so well the Dukes of Devonshire and Bedford of the
present day, who appear to have lost their senses, and to be ready
to peril all their great possessions to gratify the passions of
the moment. He says:--'But riches do not in all cases secure even
an inert and passive resistance; there are always in that
description men whose fortunes, when their minds are once vitiated
by passion or evil principle, are by no means a security from
their actually taking their part against the public tranquillity.
We see to what low and despicable passion of all kinds many men in
that class are ready to sacrifice the patrimonial estates which
might be perpetuated in their families with splendour, and with
the fame of hereditary benefactors to mankind, from generation to
generation. Do we not see how lightly people treat their fortunes
when they are under the passion of gaming? The game of resentment
or ambition will be played by many of the great and rich as
desperately and with as much blindness to the consequences as any
other game. Passion blinds them to the consequences as far as they
concern themselves, and as to the consequences with regard to
others, they are no part of their consideration.'

[Page Head: LORD PALMERSTON AS A MAN OF BUSINESS.]

The other night I met some clerks in the Foreign Office to whom
the very name of Palmerston is hateful, but I was surprised to
hear them (Mellish particularly, who can judge both from capacity
and opportunity), give ample testimony to his abilities. They
said that he wrote admirably, and could express himself perfectly
in French, very sufficiently in Italian, and understood German;
that his diligence and attention were unwearied--he read
everything and wrote an immense quantity; that the foreign
Ministers (who detest him) d