dly took me into the House of
Commons, and pointed out to me from a side gallery the most prominent
celebrities. A tall, finely formed man, in a clear resonant voice,
addressed the House for a few moments. "That is Gladstone," whispered
Lord Kinnaird. Mr. Gladstone had already won fame as a great financier
in the role of Chancellor of the Exchequer; but was at this time out of
office, occupying an independent position. He was already beginning to
break loose from Toryism, and ere long became the most brilliant and
powerful leader that the British Liberal party has ever followed. As an
orator he is ranked next to Bright; as a party manager, he was always a
match for Disraeli, and as a statesman he has won the foremost place in
British annals during the last half century.

In June, 1872, I happened to be in London at the time of the great
excitement over the famous "Alabama difficulty." The Court of
Arbitration was sitting at Geneva; things were not going smoothly, and
there was danger of a rupture with the United States. At an anniversary
meeting at Exeter Hall I had made a speech in which I spoke of the
cordial feeling of my countrymen, and their desire to avoid a conflict
with the mother country. It was suggested to me that I should call on Mr.
Gladstone, who was then Premier; and my friend, Dr. Newman Hall,--who
had always had a warm personal attachment to Gladstone,--accompanied me.
The Premier then occupied a stately mansion in Carlton House Terrace,
next to the Duke of York's column. We found him in his private sitting
room with a cup of coffee before him and a morning newspaper in his
hand. Fifteen years had made a great change in his appearance. He had
become stouter and broader shouldered. His thin hair was turned gray,
and his large eyes and magnificent brow reminded me of Daniel Webster.
He received me cordially, and we spent half an hour in conversation
about the difficulties that seemed to be obstructing an amicable
settlement of the Alabama controversy. Mr. Gladstone appeared to be
puzzled about a recent belligerent speech delivered by Mr. Charles
Sumner in our Senate chamber, and I was glad to give him a hint or two
in regard to some of our eloquent Senator's idiosyncrasies. What
impressed me most in Gladstone's free, earnest talk was its solemn and
thoroughly Christian tone--he was longing for peace on principle. On my
telling him playfully that the time which belonged to the British Empire
was too precio