wearing the costume of the East, he was greeted by
society as a prince. His novel, "Contarini Fleming," was published with
great acclaim, and interest in "Vivian Gray" was revived by a special
edition deluxe. "Contarini" was compared to "Childe Harold," and pictures
of Disraeli, with hair curling to his shoulders, were displayed in
shop-windows by the side of pictures of Byron.

Disraeli was the lion of the drawing-rooms. When it was known he was to be
in a certain place crowds gathered to get a glimpse of his handsome face,
and to listen to his wit.

He introduced several of his Eastern accomplishments, one of which was the
hookah. "Beware of tobacco, my boy," said an old colonel to him one day;
"women do not like it; it has ruined more charming liaisons than anything
else I know!"

"Then you must consider smoking a highly moral accomplishment," was the
reply. The colonel had wrongly guessed the object of Disraeli's ambition.

He became acquainted with Tom Moore, Count d'Orsay, and Lady Morgan; Lady
Blessington welcomed him at Kensington; Bulwer-Lytton introduced him to
Mrs. Wyndham Lewis--wife of the member from Maidstone--aged forty; and he
was, say, twenty-five. They tried conclusions in repartee, sparred for
points, and amused the company by hot arguments and wordy pyrotechnics.
When they found themselves alone in the conservatory, after a little
stroll, they shook hands, and the gentleman said, "What fools these
mortals be!" "True," replied the lady; "true, and you and I are mortals."
And so Disraeli found another woman who correctly gauged him. They liked
each other first-rate. At last a vacant borough was found and arrangements
made for the young man to stand as a candidate for the House of Commons.
The campaign was entered upon with great vigor. Disraeli quite outdid
himself in speech-making and waistcoats. The election took place--and he
was defeated.

* * * * *

With Disraeli defeat meant merely a transient episode, not a conclusion.
On the second venture he was elected, and one sunshiny day found himself
duly sworn in as a member of the House of Commons, with a seat just back
of Peel's.

There is a tradition in Parliament, adopted also in the United States
Senate, that silence is quite becoming to a member during his first
session. Disraeli had a motto to the effect that it is better to be
impudent than servile, and in order to teach Parliament that in the
presence of p