Cents are durable: they neither wear out nor rust out, and it is not probable, though possible, that Socialists will break through and steal. Very truly yours, DERBY. The winter of 1888-89 was passed abroad, the visit to Cannes being enlivened by the presence of Lord Acton. It was during this visit that Lord Acton wrote as follows to Lady Sherbrooke : Dec. 1, 1888 Dear Lady Sherbrooke,-I was about to start for Bellevue when you came. Pray let me know if any books, light or grave, would be agreeable during your stay here, and whether I can be of any use as a guide to Cannes. He will tell you that he is one of my oldest friends; but he cannot know that he is also one of those that I have most loved and honoured. Do not refuse me the opportunity of doing what I may to make Cannes pleasant to you. Believe me, very truly yours, La Madeline. ACTON. Sir Walter Riddell, who was one of the crew chosen for the boat-race with Cambridge in 1831, to which Lord Sherbrooke refers in his Autobiography, was also at Cannes at this time, much to his old friend's delight and gratification. A dream of Lord Sherbrooke's life, which the pressure of work had hitherto crowded out of sight, was now at length to be realised. Shortly before Christmas the travellers reached Rome, and it was with the deepest interest that Lord Sherbrooke found himself in actual contact with scenes which had so long been familiar to his mind. A fellow-feeling for the great Roman Orator induced him to pay an early visit to the Rostra, where, on the front of the marble platform, the holes are still visible in which the iron prows of the ships captured at Antium B.C. 338 were originally inserted. Lord Dufferin was now Ambassador in Rome, and his cordial and affectionate welcome gave his old friend great pleasure. The Embassy: January 18, 1889 Dear Lady Sherbrooke,-I hope if any occasion arises on which I can be of the slightest use to you or to Lord Sherbrooke you will not hesitate to let me know. When Lord Sherbrooke was one of the greatest men in England he invariably showed me the utmost kindness, and nothing would give me so much pleasure as to be of service to him in any way. I do not know how far he may take an interest in Indian affairs; but if he cares for them, perhaps he may like to see the enclosed speech. The first portion is of no importance, but the latter part may be worth his glancing at. Yours very truly, DUFFERIN AND AVA. Rome surpassed herself in interest this year: Pope Leo XIII. celebrated the Jubilee of his Orders as a priest by a Te Deum in St. Peter's, when the silver trumpets were played in the Dome for the first time since Pio Nono became the prisoner of the Vatican.' The ceremony was magnificent, but Lady Sherbrooke, in common with former visitors to Rome, noticed a lack of the decorum and impressiveness which characterised the ceremony of 1868. It was at this time that the gifted sculptor Ezekiel modelled in his studio amidst the ruins of Diocletian's Baths the lifelike bust of Lord Sherbrooke which was so much admired on its arrival in London. Lord Dufferin lent his friend the coat which he wore for the sittings, not having brought his own Cabinet Minister's uniform with him. The brightness of the climate of Italy and the lovely scenery, though dimly visible to Lord Sherbrooke, seemed ever present to his inner sight, and he never tired of expressing his delight. The following years were passed at home, and though the least eventful years of individuals, as of nations, are often the happiest, they afford little food for the biographer. There are entries of attendances at Drawing-rooms, of garden-parties at Marlborough House, of visits to the Parnell Commission Court, his election as an Honorary Member of Brooks's, of the Stanley Reception by the Geographical Society, and of meeting at a Foreign Office party the King of the Belgians (who always had a kind word for Lord Sherbrooke), with mention of an occasional dinner at Grillion's Club. The evenings of autumn and winter were cheered by books. Lord Sherbrooke's love for the Classics was too deep to be 'dissembled' now. The long years of tuition, when he used to take his pupils without book, had engraven Homer on his memory, and had enabled him to teach his wife to read Greek when he could no longer distinguish the characters, and now one of his chief enjoyments was listening to his favourite authors. As time went on Lord Sherbrooke gave up the somewhat adventurous amusement of bicycling, and contented himself with the Olympia Tandem, on which his faithful servant, Henry, could accompany him. His immunity from disaster had been very remarkable, considering his imperfect sight, for with the one exception recorded by himself, he never met with accident or injury. Lord Sherbrooke's interest in retrospective politics centred in the Reform fight, but though he took no optimistic view of the future, he was not of the genus irritabile vatum, who desire to see their reputation vindicated by the fulfilment of their sinister prophecies. THE END The end came suddenly, if this can be said of any life that has passed the allotted fourscore years. In the spring of 1892 a change was apparent in Lord Sherbrooke's health, accompanied by sleeplessness and loss of strength. He spent Easter at Torquay, and on his return to London his health and spirits rallied, but he never shook off the sense of lassitude. He left London with Lady Sherbrooke in July, and among the pleasant surroundings of his home in Surrey, watched with a solicitude that never wearied, and with every alleviation that the tenderest love could devise, he breathed his last on July 27, 1892. A small gathering of relations and friends whom affection drew together accompanied him to his last resting-place; while a Memorial Service, performed by Archdeacon Farrar and the Dean of Westminster, was held at St. Margaret's, Westminster. Now the labourer's task is o'er, It was by unsparing industry seconding the high gifts of Nature that Lord Sherbrooke won his way to the first rank in politics; but it was by his fearless candour and independence that he attained his unique position. Deprived of the adventitious aids of the born orator, he had to rely on the conclusiveness of argument, supported by the wealth of illustration which his memory supplied. It was, however, the ring of honest conviction which carried away his listeners. He appealed to their reason, and not their passions; and if his opinions were at times unpalatable, they never failed to command attention. He never truckled to the great, or descended to the artifices which win the ready plaudits of the populace; and though he was keenly sensible to discriminating approval, his ultimate appeal was ever to his own conscience. No one ever read his character more truly than his old friend Punch,' and no one can more deftly intertwine the threads of pathos and humour: : Great fighter of lost causes gone at last! Wit and worth, Satire and sense, courage, and judgment keen, In private life Lord Sherbrooke displayed an innate sweetness of disposition which conciliated affection. The simplicity of his character and his ready sympathy quickly established confidence, and many a lifelong friendship bore testimony to his sincerity. Of a rare considerateness, it was often difficult for his servants to render the assistance they desired, and to those who were as eyes to the blind,' and beguiled his tedious 6 hours by reading, he exhibited a touching gratitude. While impatient of dogma, his life was influenced by a piety far deeper than he confessed. The patience and fortitude with which he bore the thousand trials and humiliations which blindness imposes never failed, and the gaiety of his temper disguised from others what he suffered. Such triumphs are harder to win, and, weighed in some balances, perchance more honourable, than prouder laurels. His memory may be safely left to Time, the avenger, where our judgments err His voice was often drowned in the din of our party strife, but already its tones come clearer across the gulf of death. Our country has been the nurse of many a patriot who has placed her welfare before every earthly consideration, and on her roll of honour she will gratefully inscribe the name of Robert Lowe. In Memoriam The letters which followed the announcement of Lord Sherbrooke's death breathed the most tender reverence and affection. Every class was represented in this touching tribute; but they are not for insertion here; three only have been selected-from his lifelong friend, the present Prime. Minister, from the son of his warm adherent of old Sydney days, and from one who for eight years worked under him in difficult and stormy times. From the Right Hon. W. E. Gladstone Hatchlands, Guildford: August 6, 1892 Dear Lady Sherbrooke,-It was a great pain to me that, having been confined to my bed nearly from Friday of last week till the day before yesterday, I was unable to ask of you the favour that I might be permitted to attend your husband's funeral. Few will remain who remember him so long as I did, none who had a more lively admiration of his great gifts or his many fine |