ation,' wrote the Duke, 'with old Tierney at Cassiobury
about you.... I find with pleasure that he has a very high opinion of
your debating powers; and says, if you will stick to one branch of
politics and not range over too desultory a field, you may become
eminently useful and conspicuous in the House of Commons.... The line I
should recommend for your selection would be that of foreign politics,
and all home politics bearing on civil and religious liberty--a pretty
wide range....'

As soon as the end of the session brought a respite from his
Parliamentary duties Lord John started for the Continent with Moore the
poet. The author of 'Lalla Rookh' was at that moment struggling, after
the manner of the majority of poets at any moment, with the three-headed
monster pounds, shillings, and pence, through the failure of his deputy
in an official appointment at Bermuda. The poet's journal contains many
allusions to Lord John, and the following passage from it, dated
September 4, 1819, speaks for itself:--'Set off with Lord John in his
carriage at seven; breakfasted and arrived at Dover to dinner at seven
o'clock; the journey very agreeable. Lord John mild and sensible; took
off Talma very well. Mentioned Buonaparte having instructed Talma in the
part of Nero; correcting him for being in such a bustle in giving his
orders, and telling him they ought to be given calmly, as coming from a
person used to sovereignty.'[1] After a fortnight in Paris the
travellers went on to Milan, where they parted company, Moore going to
Venice to visit Byron, and Lord John to Genoa, to renew a pleasant
acquaintance with Madame Durazzo, an Italian lady of rank who was at one
time well known in English society.

[Sidenote: MADAME DURAZZO]

Madame Durazzo was a quick-witted and accomplished woman, and her
vivacious and sympathetic nature was hardly less remarkable than her
personal charm. There is evidence enough that she made a considerable
impression upon the young English statesman, who, indeed, wrote a sonnet
about her. Lord John's verdict on Italy and the Italians is pithily
expressed in a hitherto unpublished extract from his journal:--'Italy is
a delightful country for a traveller--every town full of the finest
specimens of art, even now, and many marked by remains of antiquity near
one another--all different. Easy travelling, books in plenty, living
cheap and tolerably good--what can a man wish for but a little grace and
good taste i