g manners of his
son-in-law, Lord Durham, but he always contrived, in public at least,
to bear Durham's eccentricities with unruffled temper and undisturbed
dignity. Such a statesman must have had a hard time of it with King
William of Yvetot; but let it be freely admitted that King William of
Yvetot must have had a hard time of it with such a minister as Lord
Grey. William would probably, if left to his own inclinations, have
made up his mind to hold on to the Duke of Wellington, join with the
Duke in opposing all schemes of reform, and face the music, if we may
adopt a familiar modern phrase. But there was good sense enough in
William's head, for all his odd ways and his unkingly humors, to teach
him that he had better not begin his reign by setting himself against
the public opinion of the great majority of his subjects, and therefore
our good King of Yvetot consented to become, if not the head, at least
the figure-head of a great historical movement.

{122}

CHAPTER LXXI.

REFORM.

[Sidenote: 1830--Brougham and the ministry]

The King had no other course left open to him than to send for Lord
Grey and invite him to form an Administration. Lord Grey was quite
ready for the task, and must, for some time back, have had his mind
constantly occupied with plans for such an arrangement. About some of
the appointments there was no difficulty whatever. It was obvious that
Lord Melbourne, Lord Althorp, and Lord John Russell would be invited to
take office, but there was a certain difficulty about Brougham. The
difficulty, however, was not about offering a place to Brougham; the
only trouble was to find the place which would suit him, and his
acceptance of which would also suit his leaders and his colleagues.
Nothing could be more certain than the fact that Brougham must be
invited to a place in the new Administration. He was a strong man with
the country, and he now had a distinct following of his own.

Among the yet unenfranchised districts, especially in the North of
England, Brougham probably counted for more, so far as the question of
reform was concerned, than all the other reformers in Parliament put
together. It would be idle to think of creating a Reform Ministry just
then without Henry Brougham. The new Administration could not possibly
get on without him. But then it was by no means certain that the new
Administration could get on with him, and no one could understand this
difficulty better