r.
Gladstone and himself, but they were always discouraged by Mr. Gladstone,
who was never fond of direct personal contentions, or conversations when
the purpose could be as well served otherwise, and he had a horror of what
he called multiplying channels of communication. "For the moment," he
replied, "I think we may look to Mr. M. alone, and rely on all he says for
accuracy as well as fidelity. I have been hard at work, and to-day I mean
to have a further and full talk with Mr. M., who will probably soon after
wish for some renewed conversation with Mr. Parnell." Mr. Parnell showed
himself acute, frank, patient, closely attentive, and possessed of
striking though not rapid insight. He never slurred over difficulties, nor
tried to pretend that rough was smooth. On the other hand, he had nothing
in common with that desperate species of counsellor, who takes all the
small points, and raises objections instead of helping to contrive
expedients. He measured the ground with a slow and careful eye, and fixed
tenaciously on the thing that was essential at the moment. Of constructive
faculty he never showed a trace. He was a man of temperament, of will, of
authority, of power; not of ideas or ideals, or knowledge, or political
maxims, or even of the practical reason in any of its higher senses, as
Hamilton, Madison, and Jefferson had practical reason. But he knew what he
wanted.

(M111) He was always perfectly ready at this period to acquiesce in Irish
exclusion from Westminster, on the ground that they would want all the
brains they had for their own parliament. At the same time he would have
liked a provision for sending a delegation to Westminster on occasion,
with reference to some definite Irish questions such as might be expected
to arise. As to the composition of the upper or protective order in the
Irish parliament, he was wholly unfamiliar with the various utopian plans
that have been advanced for the protection of minorities, and he declared
himself tolerably indifferent whether the object should be sought in
nomination by the crown, or through a special and narrower elective body,
or by any other scheme. To such things he had given no thought. He was a
party chief, not a maker of constitutions. He liked the idea of both
orders sitting in one House. He made one significant suggestion: he wished
the bill to impose the same disqualification upon the clergy as exists in
our own parliament. But he would have liked to see