in the Corn Exchange of Aylesbury I was severely
reprehended because I had called Lord Beaconsfield a "Jew." If I had
known better, I should have said "a Semite" or "an Israelite," or--his
own phrase--"a Mosaic Arab," and all would have been well. I had and
have close friends among the Jews, so my use of the offending word was
not dictated by racial or social prejudice. But it expressed a strong
conviction. I held then, and I hold now, that it was a heavy misfortune
for England that, during the Eastern Question, her Prime Minister was
one of the Ancient Race. The spiritual affinity between Judaism and
Mahomedanism, founded on a common denial of the Christian Creed, could
not be without its influence on a statesman whose deepest convictions,
from first to last, were with the religion of his forefathers. In 1876
Mr. Gladstone wrote--"Some new lights about Disraeli's Judaic feeling,
in which he is both consistent and conscientious, have come in upon me."
And similar "lights" dictated my action and my language at the crisis of
1879-1880.

Another element of enjoyment was that I was young--only twenty-six.
Youth is an invaluable asset in a first campaign. Youth can canvass all
day, and harangue all night. It can traverse immense distances without
fatigue, make speeches in the open air without catching cold, sleep
anywhere, eat anything, and even drink port with a grocer's label on it,
at five in the afternoon. Then again, I had a natural and inborn love of
public speaking, and I have known no enjoyment in life equal to that of
addressing a great audience which you feel to be actively sympathetic.

Yes, that spring of 1880 was a delightful time. As the condemned
highwayman said to the chaplain who was exhorting him to repentance for
his life of adventure on the road--"You dog, it was delicious." It was
all so new. One emerged (like Herbert Gladstone) from the obscurity of
College rooms or from the undistinguished herd of London ball-goers, or
from the stables and stubbles of a country home, and became, all in a
moment, a Personage. For the first time in one's life one found that
people--grown-up, sensible, vote-possessing people--wished to know one's
opinions, and gave heed to one's words. For the first time, one had
"Colours" of one's own, as if one were a Regiment or a University; for
the first time one beheld one's portrait, flattering though perhaps
mud-bespattered, on every wall. For the first time one was cheered in
t