Our youngest son, Augustus William, was born at Hill House, Harrow Weald, where we were then living, in August 1866. Princess Christian was his godmother, and Lord Barrington and Colonel Sotheby his godfathers. My father had been ill with gout, and I went with him to Wiesbaden, where we met and saw much of Lord Clarendon. The place certainly did not suit me, though it did my father good, and I came back as quickly as I could.

In 1866 Father Prout died in Paris. He had been French correspondent of the Globe, and was very witty. Writing about the financial smash of Felix Solar, he said how all his many friends had fallen away from himthat the popular "Felix" was now "Monsieur Solar," and quoted these appropriate lines:

"Donec eris Felix multos numerabis amicos:

Nubila cum veniunt plurima Solar eris."

On December 30 I walked down with my son Horace to see Lady de Grey, who lived in the house where Pitt died, on Wimbledon Common. On reaching the top of Putney Hill, we saw in the distance the fire which was raging at the Crystal Palace, destroying, as we afterwards learned, the whole of the north wing of the building.

In February, 1867, Parliament met, and we were not surprised to hear that Disraeli was at once going to deal with Reform. Needless to say, the Tories were trying their old, old game of outbidding their Liberal opponents. He attempted to deal with the question by resolutions, but had soon to abandon this course of procedure and promised a Reform Bill. Then followed the resignations of Lords Cranborne and Carnarvon and General Peel; and I remember the merriment that was caused by a speech delivered by Sir John Pakington to

1867 THE "TEN MINUTES' BILL"

his constituents on the situation. It appeared that Disraeli, with a clear view to eventualities, had prepared two bills, one more comprehensive than the other; the more moderate of the two was explained to the Cabinet, but seeing it was coldly received he produced the more comprehensive one to his remaining colleagues, only ten minutes before he had to explain it in the House of Commons, and hence it was called the "Ten Minutes Bill."

The clause giving the franchise to householders was added in committee. The Bill was remodelled by the opposition and its character was practically summed up as follows by John Stuart Mill in a speech to a large meeting in St. James's Hall: "Mr. Disraeli offers his Reform Bill to the householders of the towns, and they say Thank you, Mr. Gladstone."

In this month Lord Barrington died, and I went to his funeral at Becket. Among the mourners was William Ashley, who had recently gone into the wine trade, and I was much pleased to see how in his grief, which was genuine and sincere, he did not neglect his business.

"Poor dear William," he said, in a voice breaking with emotion, "how often I have enjoyed his hospitality, and what good claret he had! By the by," turning to his neighbors, "I have got some of it on hand now which I could let you have at a price "; and before the train came up, he had obtained two orders!

We were then living in a little house in James Street, Buckingham Gate, which, being near to the House of Commons, gave us many opportunities of having pleasant dinners, consisting of men who escaped for an hour or two and brought us the last news; George Glyn, Bo Grosvenor, Alfred Seymour, Stansfeld, and others were constant guests on those occasions.

In the spring I had a slight attack of ophthalmia, and

my eyes were so bad that I was shut up in a dark room. On the Derby Day we went down to Hill House in a terrific snow-storm! It is commonly said that the race. for the Derby was run in it, but really it cleared just as the race came off.

We stayed several times at Hazelwood, Lady Rokeby's, who had there made a most lovely garden to which she was devoted. Lord Rokeby was an old Waterloo officer, and had lived to command the Guards in the Crimea. He was always ready to talk and to tell long stories in execrable French; but he was hospitable and kind, and much beloved by his family and friends.

In the autumn we paid a short visit to Westbrook, a place near Boxmoor belonging to Lord Stratford de Redcliffe, who had played a great part in Eastern politics, where we met Lord Lyons and listened attentively to all their talk on the Eastern question. Motley described Lord Stratford de Redcliffe as "charming, interesting, straightforward, a fine specimen of a manly, incorruptible, prejudiced, choleric, handsome, sympathetic, diplomatic, thoughtful, wrong-thinking octogenarian of the elder epoch."

This year there was a magnificent ball at the India Office, given to the Sultan, paid for by the Indian government—an unjustifiable proceeding in my opinion; the ball was very lovely, though a shocking tragedy occurred in the death of Madame Musurus, the wife of the Turkish Ambassador, who was taken suddenly ill and died on the spot.

On a dark and gloomy night in the winter we were startled by the account of a great explosion at the House of Detention at Clerkenwell, where some Fenian prisoners were in custody, and I went to see the many houses that were wrecked; and a short time after, I gained admission to Bow Street to see the committal of those impli

1867 THE CLERKENWELL EXPLOSION

cated in this outrage. It was a curious sight, for I passed through a line of policemen armed with cutlasses and revolvers, and looking up to the skylight I saw there more police equally armed.

Sybil, the beautiful daughter of General and Mrs. Grey, and my wife's first cousin, was married at the Chapel Royal, St. James's Palace, on June 20, 1867, to the Duke of St. Albans. The chapel itself is as gloomy and unpretentious a building as can well be imagined, and yet it was a pretty sight to see the little procession come across the color-yard in the bright summer day and bring the sunshine in with them.

CHAPTER IX

1868-1869

Kirkman Hodgson: His Mother's Reminiscences of RobespierreMoor Park and Cassiobury-John Stuart Mill's Candidature for Westminster-Death of Lord Brougham: His Wit and Egotism -Mr. Gladstone's Return to Power-I am Appointed His Private Secretary-William Bramston Gurdon: His Quixotic Conscientiousness - Lord Granville and Mr. Gladstone-Bobsy Meade Mr. Arthur Helps-Mr. Reeve-Mr. Arthur Arnold— Residence in Downing Street-Mr. Gladstone and the Irish Church Disestablishment-His Great Speech on March 1, 1869 —Mr. Gladstone at the Derby - Holidays at Walmer CastleWalks with Mr. Gladstone-Irish Church Bill Carried-End of the Session-At Highgate with George Glyn: His Three Ambitions-Holidays at Fincastle-De Grey's Rifle-shooting-Henry Austin Bruce: His Unselfish Character.

WHEN living at Hill House we saw a greal deal of our neighbor, Kirkman Hodgson, a very distinguished Governor of the Bank of England. His mother-who was then alive, and lived until 1886-recollected, as a little girl in Paris, being lifted on her father's shoulders to avoid the pressure of the crowd, and seeing the executioner hold up the head of Robespierre, with a bandage fastened below his jaw. Hodgson was excellent company, and told us that when he was standing for Bristol a bigoted clergyman, speaking on the Tory side, asked with regard to him: "Do you suppose that that jovial millionaire ever devotes a moment's consideration to the state of his own soul ?"