THE LATE LORD CHANCELLOR CAMPBELL.


It is worthy of note that the English statesmen of the present century
have mostly originated in two totally distinct ranks of society. They
have either been the scions of noble and powerful families; or they have
arisen, in spite of circumstance, from humble parents, by the sole
recommendation of personal worth. Of the great middle class, the class
which is certainly the most respectable of the English community, and
which is at present the controlling power in the state, but few have
recently attained great eminence. That the titled and wealthy should
advance to power and influence in a government peculiarly influenced by
such recommendations, is not strange. Any son of a great English house,
who has ambition, and a reasonable share of brains, may attain, with
comparative ease, eminence in the state. An apt example is Lord Russell,
who, with but little genius, with no oratorical force, and hardly more
than medium capacity as a statesman, has become the leader of the
predominant party, by dint of shrewdness, a persevering spirit, and
ambition, backed by the powerful influence of the noble house of
Bedford. And that the master-spirits born in poverty should shake off
the incubus of humble birth, and advance to a level with the noblest, is
not so unnatural or improbable but that the history of every nation
affords us abundant examples of such men; while the middle class, who
are neither stimulated by the calls of penury, nor pushed forward by
hereditary interest, naturally retain a contented mediocrity of renown
and honor.

If any of our readers have visited the House of Lords within the past
two years, they doubtless had their attention directed to the venerable
statesman who for that period has occupied, with eminent dignity and