when it is proposed to suspend the rights and liberties of Englishmen, though even for a short period. I am determined for my own part that no weakness of frame, no indisposition of body, shall prevent my protesting against the most dangerous precedent which this House ever made. After alluding to an argument which had been used in the debate that the danger was great because the distress was great,' he went on to point out that the Habeas Corpus Act had been first enacted at a time when a plot had been discovered, which, though it has since been mentioned only as an instance of credulity, bore at the time a most alarming appearance. Not less than 200 persons, many of them of the first rank, were accused of conspiring the death of the King. The heir-presumptive of the throne was supposed to be implicated in the conspiracy, and foreign powers were ready with money and troops to assist in the subversion of our constitution in Church and State. Yet at this time did the Lords and Commons present for the royal assent this very Bill of Habeas Corpus, which for less dangers you are now about to suspend. We talk much-I think a great deal too much—of the wisdom of our ancestors. I wish we would imitate the courage of our ancestors. They were not ready to lay their liberties at the foot of the Crown upon every vain or imaginary alarm.1 These passages afford a good example of Lord John Russell's earlier manner. They are remarkable for correctness of language and for vigour of expression. Sir Francis. Burdett, in complimenting him upon his speech, declared that 'the name of Russell was dear to every Englishman; and it was peculiarly gratifying to hear the noble Lord, with so much manliness and ability, supporting those rights in the defence of which his revered ancestor lost his life.' But the protest of Lord John was as ineffective as that of his father. The Bill became law, and Lord John, either from consideration for his health, or from despair of success for his principles, again withdrew from his Parliamentary labours.3 1 Hansard, xxxv. p. 722. The speech is also republished in Lord J. Russell's Speeches and Despatches, i. 177. 2 Hansard, xxxv. 746. It has been frequently stated that Lord John actually resigned his seat and did not return to Parliament till after the general election of 1818. But this is Lord John's withdrawal was so complete that his voice was heard only once within the walls of the House of Commons during the next two years; and in the interval he frequently expressed to his friends his determination to abandon political pursuits altogether. It was such a conversation which suggested to Mr. Moore the following Remonstrance': What! thou, with thy genius, thy youth, and thy name! As the eaglet's to soar with his eyes on the sun; Of a nation that swears by that martyrdom yet! Who in life's sunny valley lie shelter'd and warm, To the top cliffs of Fortune, and breasted her storm; It first kindles the bard, and gives light to his lyre, Which tempers, but chills not, the patriot fire; Through the filt'ring recesses of thought and of lore: If the stirring of genius, the music of fame, And the charm of thy cause have not power to persuade, not the case. 104. He spoke once again in the Parliament of 1812. Hansard, xxxviii. Like the boughs of that laurel, by Delphi's decree, These lines did not induce Lord John immediately to alter his decision; and for some years he seriously meditated abandoning politics for travel and letters. Society on the Continent,' was, in his opinion, ' one of the greatest luxuries,' 2 and it so happened that society on the Continent gained for him a new fascination by the presence of one of the members of his own family. In the summer of 1817, Lord John Russell's brother William was married to Miss Rawdon, a daughter of Colonel Rawdon, and a niece of the Lord Moira, once the favourite companion of the Regent, who in 1817 was establishing the supremacy of the British in India. Lady W. Russell had personal charms of a high order. Lord Byron said that she was the only lady he ever saw Whose bloom could after dancing dare the dawn.3 But her intellectual gifts were at least as great as her personal charms. One who knew her well wrote of her that she united 'the attractions of a lively fancy, varied literary knowledge, a tone of conversation which revealed a familiarity with classic thought, together with a charm of manner quite peculiar to herself; '4 and Lord William himself wrote, twelve years after his marriage:— In England you all treat Bessy as if she was an ordinary person. But on the Continent she is treated like the most distinguished person in Europe, and, in fact, she is. Sovereigns, potentates, ་ Lord J. Russell wrote to Moore on this poem, Mackintosh showed me your verses addressed to me; and I cannot say how sorry I was when I found that such verses and such praise were not immediately to appear. I do not know that I have felt so proud of anything as being the subject of such good poetry.' 2 Essays on Life and Character, p. 3. 3 Beppo, stanza lxxxiii. For the application of the line to Miss Rawdon, see Lady W. Russell: a Memoir (London, 1874). ▲ Ibid. p. II. Lady W. Russell had passed much of her time in Europe, and especially in Italy. Lord John wrote to her from Florence in 1817: 'I was told the other day I could not have done better than have got my passport for Italy signed by you, for your name has universal currency both among those who know you and those who do not.' princes, ministers, men of letters, and simple individuals seek her acquaintance, and vie with each other to show her attention. Talents and virtue are more respected on the Continent than in England. Rank and riches command respect in our moral country. Soon after his marriage Lord William became aide-decamp for a second time to the Duke of Wellington, who was commanding the army of occupation in France; and thus had constant opportunity of enjoying the society, English and French, military and diplomatic, literary and political, which gathered round the illustrious field-marshal. Those then who appreciate Lord John's strong affection for his brother, who are acquainted with his love of travel, and with his pleasure in foreign society, will have no difficulty in determining how much of his time, which perhaps ought to have been devoted to politics, was given to the fascinations with which his brother and sister-in-law were surrounded. His 'prolific' pen (to use an epithet which Dr. Cartwright had applied to it twelve years before) was, however, again becoming busy. Its activity during the decade 1819 to 1829 was extraordinary. For some reasons it would perhaps be better to deal with these various productions as they were written in chronological order. But as the ten years in which they appeared constituted a period in which their author was taking a constantly increasing interest in affairs, it will be convenient to relate his literary work before reverting to his political conduct. In these ten years, without reckoning speeches which were separately published, contributions to social periodicals, and political pamphlets, Lord John Russell published (1) 'The Life of William, Lord Russell;' (2) 'Essays and Sketches of Life and Character;' (3) 'Letters written for the Post and not for the Press;' (4) 'An Essay on the History of the English Constitution;' (5) 'The Nun of Arrouca, a Tale;' (6) 'Don Carlos, a Tragedy;' (7) Memoirs of the Affairs of Europe from the Peace of Utrecht;' (8) 'A Translation of the Fifth Book of the Odyssey;' (9) The Establishment of the Turks in Europe, an Historical Discourse;" (10) An Imitation of the 13th Satire of Juvenal, being an Epistle to Mr. Moore.' He composed a farce in five acts, 'The Way to Win Her,' which was never published; he wrote some minor poems; he prepared some long and valuable monographs on Pope and Swift, which were apparently intended to be worked into the third volume of his History; and he composed the essay 'On the Causes of the French Revolution,' which was afterwards separately published in 1832, but which was also originally intended to form part of that volume. No one who is not acquainted with these various works can realise the labour which they represent, or the time which their preparation must have absorbed. Some of them are now very rare. The Letters written for the Post and not for the Press' are not in the British Museum; they are not in Pembroke Lodge; they are not among other Russell literature on the shelves of Woburn Abbey. They are, however, included in the list of Lord John's works by Allibone; and are attributed to him by Lowndes. Of their merits, or of their nature, the present author, who has been unable to procure access to them, is unable to speak, and he passes on therefore at once to the other works in the list. The Nun of Arrouca,' written during a visit to Paris in 1820,2 is a very slender tale; it does not comprise a hundred short pages, and it is more remarkable for its biographical interest than for its literary character. The Essays and Sketches deserve a little longer notice. They were published originally in 1820, at Mr. Moore's suggestion; the authorship being attributed to 'a gentleman who has left his lodgings,' his landlord, 'Joseph Skillett,' in editing the Essays, professing a hope that he might recover some part of his rent by this means. Mr. Skillett also lets us into the author's habits : : I observed he went to Almack's and the French play; was admitted into the Travellers' Club, wore stays, and used much starch in his neckcloth. Notwithstanding this his life was not so regular as that of most young men of fashion. He did not always go out to dinner at a quarter before eight, nor always come home at five in the morning, nor always get up at half-past two in the afternoon, &c. Allibone also includes a translation of Monti's tragedy Caius Gracchus, which was the work of Lord W. Russell. 2 Moore's Memoirs, iii. 183. |