ce on this mass of distractions is formidable, but,
luckily for us it is now mere burnt-out cinder. The two protagonists of
discord had been Mr. Lowe and Mr. Ayrton, and we may as well leave them
with a few sentences of Mr. Gladstone upon the one, and to the other:--

Mr. Ayrton, he says, has caused Mr. Gladstone so much care and
labour on many occasions, that if he had the same task to
encounter in the case of a few other members of the cabinet, his
office would become intolerable. But before a public servant of
this class can properly be dismissed, there must be not only a
sufficient case against him, but a case of which the sufficiency
can be made intelligible and palpable to the world. Some of his
faults are very serious, yet he is as towards the nation an
upright, assiduous, and able functionary.

To Mr. Lowe, who had become home secretary, he writes (Aug. 13):--

I do not know whether the word "timid" was the right one for L----,
but, at any rate, I will give you proof that I am not "timid";
though a coward in many respects I may be. I always hold that
politicians are the men whom, as a rule, it is most difficult to
comprehend, _i.e._ understand completely; and for my own part, I
never have thus understood, or thought I understood, above one or
two, though here and there I may get hold of an isolated idea
about others. Such an idea comes to me about you. I think the
clearness, power, and promptitude of your intellect are in one
respect a difficulty and a danger to you. You see everything in a
burning, almost a scorching light. The case reminds me of an
incident some years back. Sir D. Brewster asked me to sit for my
photograph in a black frost and a half mist in Edinburgh. I
objected about the light. He said, This is the best light; it is
all diffused, not concentrated. Is not your light too much
concentrated? Does not its intensity darken the surroundings? By
the surroundings, I mean the relations of the thing not only to
other things but to persons, as our profession obliges us
constantly to deal with persons. In every question flesh and blood
are strong and real even if extraneous elements, and we cannot
safely omit them from our thoughts.

Now, after all this impudence, let me try and do you a little more
justice. You have held for a long time the most important office
o