in keeping with the movement of the commercial spirit and went along the
path illumined by the growing light of a sound political economy.

{233}

CHAPTER LXXVII.

PEEL'S FORLORN HOPE.

[Sidenote: 1834--Retirement of Lord Grey]

Lord Grey was growing tired of the work of that Administration. It had
been incessant work, and its great successes of later years had been
checkered by some disappointments, which, although not deep-reaching,
were irritating and disturbing. Some of his most capable colleagues
had broken away from him, and he probably began to feel that the
reformers all over the country expected more of him than he saw his way
to accomplish. In 1834 he asked to be relieved from the duties of his
office, and the King consented, probably with greater good-will than he
had felt in acceding to some of Lord Grey's previous requests, and
accordingly Lord Grey ceased to be Prime Minister. With his
resignation of office Lord Grey passes out of this history and takes an
abiding place in the Parliamentary history of his country. He can
hardly be called a great statesman, for he had been mainly instrumental
in bringing to success and putting into legislative form the ideas of
greater men, but his must be regarded as a distinguished and noble
figure among England's Parliamentary leaders. He was especially suited
for the work which it was his proud fortune to accomplish at the zenith
of his power, for no one could be better fitted than he for the task of
discountenancing the wild alarms which were felt by so many belonging
to what were called the privileged classes at the thought of any
measures of reform which might disturb the existing order of things,
and lead to red ruin and the breaking-up of laws. On Lord Grey's
retirement he was succeeded as Prime Minister by Lord Melbourne, who
had previously been Home Secretary. Lord Melbourne might have been
thought just the sort of {234} person with whom King William could
easily get on, because such a Prime Minister was not likely to vex his
sovereign's unwilling ear by too many demands for rapid and
far-reaching reform. Melbourne was a thoroughly easy, not to say lazy,
man. He was certainly not wanting in intellect, he had some culture,
he was a great reader of books and a great lover of books, and he was
often only too glad to escape into literary talk and literary gossip
from discussions on political questions and measures to be introduced
into Parliamen