used to think that he overvalued the political influence of the
great Whig houses and gave them more than their fair share of honors
and appointments, no one was personally more free from that taint of
snobbishness which is so frequently charged upon Englishmen. He
gave the best he had to everybody alike, paying to men of learning
and letters a respect which they seldom receive from English
politicians or social magnates. And although he was scrupulously
observant of all the rules of precedence and conventions of social
life, it was easy to see that neither rank nor wealth had that
importance in his eyes which the latter, especially nowadays,
commands in London. Dispensing titles and decorations with a
liberal hand, his pride always refused such so-called honors for
himself. When Mr. Disraeli became Earl of Beaconsfield, his smile
had a touch of contempt in it as he observed, "I cannot forgive him
for not having made himself a duke."

It was often said of him that he lacked humor; but this was only so
far true that he was apt to throw into small matters a force and
moral earnestness which ordinary people thought needless, and to
treat seriously opponents whom a little light sarcasm would have
better reduced to their insignificance. In private he was wont both
to tell and enjoy good stories; while in Parliament, though his tone
was generally earnest, he would occasionally display such effective
powers of banter and ridicule as to make people wonder why they were
so rarely put forth. A great deal of what passes in London for
humor is mere cynicism, and he hated cynicism so heartily as to
dislike even humor when it had a touch of cynical flavor. Wit he
enjoyed, but did not produce. The turn of his mind was not to
brevity and point and condensation. He sometimes struck off a
telling phrase, but never polished an epigram. His conversation was