declare his opinion of the Tractarians, who remain in a
Church to which they no longer belong, without indirectly giving
offence to Roman Catholics. But it is against their practices that
his strong disapprobation is declared, and of the mischief of those
practices I dare say you have no idea. I believe many of them, most
of them, to be as pious and excellent men as ever existed; but
their teaching is not likely to make others as pious and excellent
as themselves; and their remaining in the Church obliges them to a
secrecy and hesitation in their teaching that is worse than the
teaching itself, which would disappear if they became honest
Dissenters. I could write pages more upon the subject but have no
time, and I will only beg you not to confound John's letter with
the bigotry and intolerance of many speeches at many meetings. I am
keeping the collection of letters, addresses, etc., that he has
received on the subject--a curious medley, being from all ranks and
degrees of men, some really touching, some laughable.

_Lady John Russell to Lady Mary Abercromby_

LONDON, _February_ 11, 1851

I wonder what you will think of John's speech last Friday. I am
quite surprised at the approbation it meets with here--not that I
do not think it deserved, for surely it was a fine high-minded one,
and at the same time one at no word of which a Roman Catholic, as
such, could take offence--but so many people thought more ought to
be done, and so many others that nothing ought to be done, that I
expected nothing but grumbling. However, the _speech_ is by
most persons distinguished from the _measure_. I have not yet
quite succeeded in persuading myself, or being persuaded, that we
might not have let the whole thing alone; treating an impertinence
_as_ an impertinence, to be met by ridicule or indignation as
each person might incline, but not by legislation. This being my
natural and I hope foolish impulse, I rejoice that the Bill is so
mild that nobody can consider it as an infringement of the
principle of religious liberty, but rather a protest against undue
interference in temporal affairs by Pope, Prelate, or Priest of any
denomination. Lizzy and I went to the House last night. I never
heard John speak with more spirit and effect. Do not you in your
quiet beautiful Nervi look with amazemen