W. E. GLADSTONE (1809-98)—in the House of Commons, on the second reading of the Irish Land Bill in 1870. The Orangeman raises his warwhoop; Exeter Hall sets up its bray. LORD MACAULAY (1800-59)-in a speech in the House of Commons in April, 1845, on the second reading of the Maynooth College Bill. The past, at least, is secure. DANIEL WEBSTER (1782-1852)— alluding to the history of Massachusetts in the Union. See Our past has gone into history. The people my trust. PRESIDENT JAMES A. GARFIELD (1831-81)-Last words. The people never give up their liberties except under some delusion. EDMUND BURKE (1729-97)—in a speech at a county meeting of Buckinghamshire, 1784. The people of England, in my opinion, committed a worse offence by the unconstitutional restoration of Charles II than even by the death of Charles I. CHARLES JAMES FOX (1749-1806) -in the House of Commons, Dec. 10, 1795. See The worst of revolutions is a restoration. The people's liberties strengthen the king's prerogative, and the king's prerogative is to defend the people's liberties. CHARLES I (1600-49). The poorest man may in his cottage bid defiance to all the force of the crown. WILLIAM PITT, Earl of Chatham (1708-78)-in a speech on the Excise Bill. He continued, "It may be frail; its roof may shake; the wind may blow through it; the storms may enter, the rain may enter, but the King of England cannot enter! all his forces dare not cross the threshold of the ruined tenement." (Brougham's Statesman of George III, 1st series, p. 41) Cf. For a man's house is his castle, et domus sua cuique tutissimum refugium; for where shall a man be safe, if it be not in his house. (Sir E. Coke, Third Institute, 1648 edit. p. 162) The press is like the air, a chartered libertine. WILLIAM PITT, Earl of Chatham (1708-78)-about 1757, when his attention was called to some of the press comments against him. The allusion is to the following lines in Shakspere's King Henry V (act I, sc. I) Cf. "that, when he speaks, The air, a charter'd libertine, is still." "That Man, the lawless libertine, may rove, Free and unquestion'd through the wilds of love; (Rowe, Jane Shore, act 1, sc. 2). The programme of the Conservative party is to maintain the Constitution of the country. BENJAMIN DISRAELI, [Earl of Beaconsfield] (1804-81)—in a speech at Manchester, April 3, 1872. The progress of the times, Mr. Speaker, is such, that little children who can neither walk nor talk may be seen running about the streets, cursing their Maker! SIR BOYLE ROCHE (1743-1807)— alluding to the manners of "Young Ireland." The public is poor. EDMUND BURKE (1729-97)—in a speech on the plan for economical reform, Feb. 11, 1780. LORD BROUGHAM (1778-1868)— Title given to a book published in 1830 under the auspices of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge. According to Charles Knight's Passages of a Working Life (vol. ii, p. 135) Lord Brougham suggested the phrase as an improvement upon Professor Craik's own title for the book: The Love of Knowledge overcoming Difficulties in its Pursuit. The Queen of Scots is the mother of a fair son, and I but a barren stock. QUEEN ELIZABETH (1533-1603) -Remark on hearing of the birth of James VI, in June, 1566. There are three things that every man fancies he can do: farm a small property, drive a gig, and write an article for a review. REV. SIDNEY SMITH (1771-1845). There is a higher law than the Constitution. WILLIAM HENRY SEWARD (180172)-in a speech, March 11, 1850. See There is something behind the Throne &c. "The Constitution devotes the national domain to union, to justice, to defence, to welfare, and to liberty. But there is a higher law than the Constitution, which regulates our authority over the domain, and devotes it to the same noble purposes." There is always room at the top. DANIEL WEBSTER (1782-1852)— when advised not to become a law. yer as the profession was over crowded. See Most good lawyers live well, work hard, and die poor. There is another and a better world. JOHN PALMER (1742-98)-Last words. He died on the stage of the Liverpool Theatre, while acting in The Stranger, a play by Kotzebue, and the above words are a line in the play, act i, sc. i, translated by A. Schink, London, 1799. There is little or nothing in this life worth living for, but we can all of us go straight forward and do our duty. DUKE OF WELLINGTON (17691852). See The best of life is just tolerable &c. There is no sovereignty of any first-rate State which costs so little to the people, as the sovereignty of England. BENJAMIN DISRAELI [Earl of Beaconsfield] (1804-81)-in a speech at Manchester, April 3, 1872. There is nothing that is meritorious but virtue and friendship; and, indeed, friendship is only a part of virtue. ALEXANDER POPE (1688-1744)— Last words (Johnson, Life of Pope). Another version: "I am dying, sir, of a hundred good symptoms," said to a friend who called to inquire concerning his health. There is no time to be lost. ERASMUS DARWIN (1731-1802)— Last words, having asked to be bled. There is something behind the Throne greater than the King himself. WILLIAM PITT [Earl of Chatham] (1708-78)-in a speech, March 2, 1770. Preceded by "A long train of these practices has at length unwillingly convinced me that," etc. (Chatham Correspondence). Quoted by Lord Mahon, "greater than the Throne itself." (Hist. of England), vol. v, p. 258) See There is a higher law than the Constitution. The religion of all sensible men. See All wise men are of the same religion. The resources of civilisation are not yet exhausted. W. E. GLADSTONE (1809-98)—in a speech at a banquet in his honour at Leeds, Oct. 7, 1881. The right honourable gentleman [Sir Robert Peel] caught the Whigs bathing, and walked away with their clothes. BENJAMIN DISRAELI [Earl of Beaconsfield] (1804-81)-in speech on the opening of letters by government, Feb. 28, 1845. The right honourable gentle a man is indebted to his memory for his jests, and to his imagination for his facts. RICHARD BRINSLEY SHERIDAN (1751-1816)—in the House of Commons, alluding to Mr. Dundas. (Sheridaniana; see also Moore's Life of Sheridan). Cf. ". . et on peut dire que son esprit brille aux dépens de sa memoire." (It may be said that his wit shines at the expense of his memory) (Le Sage, Gil Blas, bk. iii, ch. II). The right man in the right place. SIR AUSTEN H. LAYARD(1817-94) -in a speech in the House of Commons, Jan. 15, 1855. "I have always believed that success would be the inevitable result if the two services, the army and the navy, had fair play, and if we sent the right man to fill the right place." (Hansard, Parl. Debates, 3rd Series, vol. 138, p. 2077) The Schoolmaster is abroad. LORD BROUGHAM (1779-1868) — in a speech in the House of Com mons, Jan. 29, 1828. Followed by: "and I trust more to him, armed with his primer, than I do to the soldier in full military array, for upholding and extending the liberties of his country." The secret of success is constancy to purpose. BENJAMIN DISRAELI [Earl of Beaconsfield] (1804-81)-in a speech at the Crystal Palace, June 24, 1872. The sick man of Europe [or of the East]. See L'homme inalade. The South! The South! God knows what will become of her! JOHN CALDWELI CALHOUN (1782-1850)-Last words. The splendid bridge from the Old World to the New. THOMAS CARLYLE (1795-81)—to Ralph Waldo Emerson, of Edward Gibbon, the historian. The standard of St. George was hoisted on the mountains of Rasselas. BENJAMIN DISRAELI [Earl of Beaconsfield] (1804-81)-in moving a vote of thanks, July 2, 1868, in the House of Commons, to Sir R. Napier's army after the Abyssinian campaign. "He led the elephants of Asia, bearing the artillery of Europe, over African passes which might have startled the trapper, and appalled the hunter of the Alps." The above precedes, but not immediately, the phrase "The standard of St. George," &c. The sweet simplicity of the three per cents. BENJAMIN DISRAELI [Earl of Beaconsfield (1804-81)—in a speech on agricultural distress, Feb. 19, 1850. "The sweet simplicity of the three per cents." (Idem, Endy mion 1880) See The elegant simplicity &c. The Tower is to me the worst argument in the world. WILLIAM PENN, founder of Pennsylvania, (1644-1718)-when threatened with imprisonment for joining the Quakers. The true poet ascends to receive knowledge; he descends to impart it. WILLIAM WORDSWORTH (17701850). The uncrowned king of Ireland. W. E. FORSTER (1818-86)-in a speech in the House of Commons Feb. 22, 1883, on Ireland, spoke of Charles Stuart Parnell as "the uncrowned king' as the honourable member for Dungarvan called him." Mr. O'Donnell, however, denied having ever said anything of the kind. The unspeakable Turk. THOMAS CARLYLE (1795 1881)-in a letter written to a meeting at St. James's Hall, London, in 1876, convened to discuss the Eastern question. "The unspeakable Turk should be immediately struck out of the question, and the country be left to honest European guidance." A correspondant of Notes and Queries (1899, 1st half, p. 177) quotes as follows: "The unspeakable Turk should be immediately struck out of the question, and the country left to European guidance."-letter from Thomas Carlyle to George Howard, M.P., dated Nov. 24, 1876. He also used the phrase in 1831, in an article on the Nibelungen Lied in the Westminster Review (no. 29) "that unspeakable Turk, King Machabol." The volunteer force is the garri son of our hearths and homes. BENJAMIN DISRAELI [Lord Beaconsfield] (1804-81)-in a speech at PreAylesbury, Feb. 18, 1879. ceded by: "The British Army is the garrison of our Empire, but .," and followed by: "Patriotism never had a better inspiration than when it established that effective and powerful institution." The weapon of the advocate is the sword of the soldier, not the dagger of the assassin. SIR ALEXANDER COCKBURN (180580)-combating Brougham's opinion that an advocate in discharging his duty regards only the interests of his client, even if he involves his country in confusion. The wisdom of many, and the wit of one. LORD JOHN RUSSELL (1792-1878 -Impromptu definition of a proverb, one morning at breakfast"One man's wit and all men's wisdom." (Memoirs of Mackintosh, vol. ii, p. 473.) The wisdom of our ancestors. EDMUND BURKE (1729-97)-in a speech on conciliation with America, Mar. 22, 1775, but SIR WILLIAM GRANT (1754-1832) is credited with having first used the phrase. The world is a comedy to those who think, a tragedy to those who feel. HORACE WALPOLE (1717-97)--in a letter, 1770, to Sir Horace Mann. The world itself is but a large prison, out of which some are daily led to execution. SIR WALTER RALEIGH (15521618) when returning to prison from his trial. The worst of revolutions is a restoration. CHARLES JAMES FOX (1749-1806) -referring to that of Charles II. See The people of England &c. The Youth of a nation are the Masters of Posterity, BENJAMIN DISRAELI [Earl of Beaconsfield] (1804-81)-in a speech at the Manchester Athenæum, Oct. 23, 1844. There's nothing to beat that, Hugh. It is a paraphrase of the words of Paul: I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him, against that day.' HENRY DRUMMOND (1851-97)Last intelligible or connected words; referring to the following lines which Dr. Barbour had just joined with him in singing: I'm not ashamed to own my Lord, There's plenty of time to win this game and to thrash the Spaniards too. (Dict. Nat. Biog., xv, p. 437.) SIR FRANCIS DRAKE (1540-96)— who was playing at bowls with Lord Howard of Effingham and others on a cliff overlooking the sea, when news was brought to him that the Armada had been seen off Lizard Point, July 19, 1588. (Cf. C. Kingsley's Westward Ho! ch. 30) They may ring their bells now; before long they will be wringing their hands. SIR ROBERT WALPOLE (16761745) when the bells were rung in London on war being declared against Spain in 1739. (Coxe, Life, I, 579.) They planted by your care! No, REV SYDNEY SMITH (1771-1845) -on seeing two women abusing each other from opposite houses. They will not let my play run; and yet they steal my thunder. JOHN DENNIS (1657-1734)finding that the manager of Drury Lane Theatre was using some artificial thunder that Dennis had invented for a play of his own that had been acted but a short time. (Biog. Britannica, vol. v. p. 103.) The Dict. Nat. Biog., (vol. xiv. p. 370) says that Dennis was at a performance of Macbeth' (shortly after " Appius and Virginia' was withdrawn) and, on hearing the thunder, exclaimed, "that's my thunder, by God! the villains will play my thunder, but not my plays." (Cibber, Lives, iv. 234) In the Life of Mr. John Dennis (anon., London, 1734, p. 31) his exclamation is given as 'Sdeath! that's my Thunder.' They will receive a terrible blow |