never have condescended to be brilliant. His mind is that of iron mould
that defies alike warping, meretricious polish, or demolition.

It is a conviction of the thorough and unflinching honesty of his views
and principles, and of the clear perception, the fruitful experience,
and sound practical sense which regulate his opinions, that makes the
Duke of Wellington the governing spirit in the House of Peers. There is
no man in that house, be his talents or his services what they may,
whose opinion carries so much weight with it; for there is no other man
so independent of party. All the others, however moderate their natures
or honest their intentions, have been compelled to give in at some time
or other to the spirit of party. But the Duke is above party. He entered
the House of Peers with an overpowering reputation, which enabled him
from the first to take high ground. He does not need to curry favour
with any man; nor does he fear to offend even the most powerful of his
supporters, when his cause is just.

But the Duke's ascendancy in the House of Peers is not to be referred
to the foregoing causes alone. Had he none of that personal influence
derived from services and character to which we have referred, his
abilities and information alone would enable him to take high rank. His
claims in these respects are much, underrated by those who are opposed
to him in politics. His reasoning is so simple, clear and palpable--so
much in the character of what is called common sense--and his style of
speaking so unpretending and free from ornament, that superficial
observers have set him down as a mere blunt soldier, with a few fixed
ideas, and a disposition dogmatically to insist on their adoption. This
is altogether a mistake. The Duke of Wellington has as much of the true
spirit of the statesman as any man who now affects the destinies of this
country. There is scarcely a subject that has come before parliament