e of the devil in him than appears.' A few weeks
were enough to show him that 'Gladstone was far the most considerable of
the rising generation, having besides his abilities an excellent
disposition and great strength of character.' James Stephen thought well
of him, but doubted if he had pugnacity enough for public life.

A few days later Mr. Gladstone dined with an official party at the
fallen minister's:--

Sir R. Peel made a very nice speech on Lincoln's proposing and our
drinking his health. The following is a slight and bad sketch:--'I
really can hardly call you gentlemen alone. I would rather address
you as my warm and attached friends in whom I have the fullest
confidence, and with whom it has afforded me the greatest
satisfaction to be associated during the struggle which has just
been brought to a close. In undertaking the government, from the
first I have never expected to succeed; still it was my conviction
that good might be done, and I trust that good has been effected. I
believe we have shown that even if a conservative government be not
strong enough to carry on the public affairs of this country, at
least we are so strong that we ought to be able to prevent any
other government from doing any serious mischief to its
institutions. We meet now as we met at the beginning of the
session, then perhaps in somewhat finer dresses, but not, I am
sure, with kindlier feelings towards each other.'

The rest of the session Mr. Gladstone passed in his usual pursuits,
reading all sorts of books, from the correspondence of Leibnitz with
Bossuet, and Alexander Knox's _Remains_, down to Rousseau's
_Confessions_. As to the last of these he scarcely knew whether to read
on or to throw it aside, and, in fact, he seems only to have persevered
with that strange romance of a wandering soul for a day or two. Besides
promiscuous reading, he performed some scribbling, including a sonnet,
recorded in his diary with notes of wondering exclamation. His family
were in London for most of May, his mother in bad health; no other
engagement ever interrupted his sedulous attendance on her every day,
reading the Bible to her, and telling the news about levees and
drawing-rooms, a great dinner at Sir Robert Peel's, and all the rest of
his business and recreations. In the House he did little between the
fall of the ministry and the close of the session. He once