to deal with
the problem. Lord Melbourne, and some at least of his colleagues, were
but little interested in the question, and they failed to gauge the
feeling of the country.

In the spring of 1841 action of some kind grew inevitable, and the
Cabinet determined to propose a fixed duty of eight shillings per
quarter on wheat, and to reduce the duty on sugar. Lord John opened the
debate on the latter proposal in a speech which moved even Greville to
enthusiasm; but neither his arguments nor his eloquence produced the
desired impression on the House, for the Government was defeated by
thirty-six votes. Everyone expected the Ministry at once to face the
question of dissolution or resignation; but Melbourne was determined to
cling to office as long as possible, in spite of the growing
difficulties and even humiliations of his position. On June 4, the day
on which Lord John was to bring forward his proposal for a fixed duty on
wheat, Sir Robert Peel carried a vote of want of confidence by a
majority of one, and, as an appeal to the country was at length
inevitable, Parliament was dissolved a few days later. The Melbourne
Ministry had outstayed its welcome. The manner in which it had left Lord
Durham in the lurch over his ill-advised ordinances had aroused
widespread indignation, for the multitude at least could not forget the
greatness of his services to the cause of Reform. If the dissolution had
come two or three years earlier, the Government might have gone to the
country without fear; but in 1841, both at home and abroad, their
blunders and their vacillation had alienated confidence, and it was not
difficult to forecast the result. The General Election brought Lord John
a personal triumph. He was presented with a requisition signed by
several thousand persons, asking him to contest the City of London, and
after an exciting struggle he was returned, though with only a narrow
majority; and during the political vicissitudes of the next eighteen
years London was faithful to him.

Lord John Russell was essentially a home-loving man, and the gloom which
bereavement had cast over his life in the autumn of 1839 was at best
only partially dispelled by the close and sympathetic relations with his
family. It was, therefore, with satisfaction that all his friends, both
on his own account and that of his motherless young children, heard of
his approaching second marriage. Immediately after the election for the
City, Lord John was m