s
judgment was always at his brother's service. On his death Lord John
inherited the Ardsalla estate in Ireland. The loss of his brother
precipitated perhaps an intention he had considered for some time of saving
his strength by accepting a peerage, and exchanging the strenuous life of
the House of Commons for the lighter work of the House of Lords. The
exchange was effected in July, when Lord John became Earl Russell.

"Very dismal about the peerage," writes Lady John in her diary,
"and seeing only the sad side of it.... John made a fine speech on
Sardinia, perhaps his last in the House of Commons."

_Lady Minto [55] to Lady John Russell_

_July_ 20, 1861

...It is impossible not to feel _very sad_ in parting with a
name which has so long been the rallying point of the Liberal
party, the watchword of all those who in our day have fought the
good fight, and, whatever name he may bear, it will never carry to
English ears the same sound as "Lord John." People older than
ourselves had looked to it with hope; and in our time, whenever
Liberty has been in danger, or truth or justice or the national
honour has been attacked, the first question which rose to men's
lips was, "What will Lord John do?"....I remember his first speech
on the China War in 1856. How empty the House was when he rose, how
rapidly it filled to overflowing; then the intense silence which
followed the rush, and lastly the overpowering cheers from all
sides as he went on. To leave the scene where he has so long
wielded at will the, alas! _not fierce_ "democracie" (and it
will be milder still without him!) must require immense
self-control and self-denial.

[55] Formerly Lady Melgund. Her husband had now succeeded his
father as third Earl of Minto.

_Lord John Russell to Lady Minto_

LONDON, _July_ 23, 1861

MY DEAREST NINA,--It seems very bad of us not to have explained
duly and deliberately that I have the project resolved upon and
decided of accepting a peerage. But there have been many changes in
my mind before the final leap was resolved upon. Forty-seven years
of the House of Commons are enough for any man, and imply a degree
of wear and tear which those who read the speeches listlessly at
the breakfast table have little conception of. A reply which is to
go to Paris, Petersburg, Turin, and Washington requires much