had departed so widely from the traditions of his youth, still, this
prevailing gloom was lightened, often at very unexpected moments, by
flashes of delicious humour, sarcastic but not savage. No one excelled
him in the art of making an opponent look ridiculous. Careless
critics called him "cynical," but it was an abuse of words. Cynicism
is shamelessness, and not a word ever fell from Lord Salisbury which
was inconsistent with the highest ideals of patriotic statesmanship.

He was by nature as shy as he was short-sighted. He shrank from new
acquaintances, and did not always detect old friends. His failure
to recognize a young politician who sat in his Cabinet, and a zealous
clergyman whom he had just made a Bishop, supplied his circle with
abundant mirth, which was increased when, at the beginning of the
South African War, he was seen deep in military conversation with
Lord Blyth, under the impression that he was talking to Lord Roberts.

But, in spite of these impediments to social facility, he was an
admirable host both at Hatfield and in Arlington Street--courteous,
dignified, and only anxious to put everyone at their ease. His
opinions were not mine, and it always seemed to me that he was
liable to be swayed by stronger wills than his own. But he was
exactly what he called Gladstone, "a great Christian statesman."




VII

_LORD ROSEBERY_