an argument against intrusting the aristocracy and even the House
itself with the destinies of the nation; for no dock labourer could
possibly be more entirely empty of all reasons for action than the
noble lords, squires, lawyers, and railway directors whom I have seen
troop to the division bell. There is something deeper than this
scepticism, but the scepticism is the easiest and the most obvious
conclusion to an open mind dealing so closely and practically with
politics as it was my lot to do at this time of my life. Men must be
governed, and when it comes to the question, by whom? I, for one,
would far sooner in the long run trust the people at large than I
would the few, who in everything which relates to Government are as
little instructed as the many and more difficult to move. The very
fickleness of the multitude, the theme of such constant declamation,
is so far good that it proves a susceptibility to impressions to
which men hedged round by impregnable conventionalities cannot yield.
{1}

When I was living in the country, the pure sky and the landscape
formed a large portion of my existence, so large that much of myself
depended on it, and I wondered how men could be worth anything if
they could never see the face of nature. For this belief my early
training on the "Lyrical Ballads" is answerable. When I came to
London the same creed survived, and I was for ever thirsting for
intercourse with my ancient friend. Hope, faith, and God seemed
impossible amidst the smoke of the streets. It was now very
difficult for me, except at rare opportunities, to leave London, and
it was necessary for me, therefore, to understand that all that was
essential for me was obtainable there, even though I should never see
anything more than was to be seen in journeying through the High
Street, Camden Town, Tottenham Court Road, the Seven Dials, and