Читать книгу Lady John Russell: A Memoir with Selections from Her Diaries and Correspondence - Various - Страница 12

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(After a conversation with Lord John Russell in which he had intimated some idea of giving up all political pursuits.)

Page 57.

What! thou, with thy genius, thy youth, and thy name-- Thou, born of a Russell--whose instinct to run The accustomed career of thy sires, is the same As the eaglet's to soar with his eyes on the sun. Whose nobility comes to thee, stamped with a seal, Far, far more ennobling than monarch e'er set, With the blood of thy race, offered up for the weal Of a nation that swears by that martyrdom yet I Shalt thou be faint-hearted and turn from the strife, From the mighty arena, where all that is grand, And devoted and pure, and adorning in life, 'Tis for high-thoughted spirits like thine to command? Oh no, never dream it--while good men despair Between tyrants and traitors, and timid men bow, Never think, for an instant, thy country can spare Such a light from her darkening horizon as thou. With a spirit as meek as the gentlest of those Who in life's sunny valley lie sheltered and warm; Yet bold and heroic as ever yet rose To the top cliffs of Fortune and breasted her storm; With an ardour for liberty, fresh as in youth It first kindles the bard and gives life to his lyre, Yet mellowed even now by that mildness of truth Which tempers, but chills not, the patriot fire; With an eloquence--not like those rills from a height, Which sparkle and foam, and in vapour are o'er; But a current that works out its way into light Through the filtering recesses of thought and of lore. Thus gifted, thou never canst sleep in the shade; If the stirrings of Genius, the music of fame, And the charms of thy cause have not power to persuade, Yet think how to Freedom thou'rt pledged by thy Name. Like the boughs of that laurel, by Delphi's decree, Set apart for the Fane and its service divine, So the branches that spring from the old Russell tree, Are by Liberty claimed for the use of her shrine. THOMAS MOORE.

In spite of strong literary proclivities it would certainly have been a wrench to Lord John to leave the stirring scenes of Parliamentary life, and his feeling about it may be gathered from a letter written to his brother in 1841:

Page 58.

Lord John Russell to the Duke of Bedford ENDSLEIGH, October 13, 1841 Whatever may be said about other families, I do not think ours ought to retire from active exertion. In all times of popular movement the Russells have been on the "forward" side. At the Reformation the first Earl of Bedford, in Charles the First's days Francis the great Earl, in Charles the Second's William, Lord Russell, in later times Francis Duke of Bedford--my father--you--and lastly myself in the Reform Bill.

At the General Election in 1818 Lord John was again elected for Tavistock, and began to make the furtherance of Parliamentary Reform his particular aim. In 1820 he became member for Huntingdonshire. Henceforward, whenever the question of Reform came before the House, Lord John was recognized as its most prominent supporter. As early as 1822 he moved that "the present state of representation of the people in Parliament requires the most serious consideration of the House." In 1828 he succeeded in carrying the repeal of the Test and Corporation Acts. He was also an ardent supporter of the Catholic Relief Bill. Thus in religious, educational, and parliamentary questions he stood up stoutly for liberty. When Lord Grey succeeded the Duke of Wellington, Lord John took a large part in drafting the famous measure of Reform, and the Bill of 1831 was introduced by him; after which speech he became the most popular man in England. Beaten in Committee, the Reform party appealed to the country and returned with a larger majority. On June 24, 1831. he introduced the Bill for the second time.

This Bill, after being carried in the House of Commons, was rejected by the House of Lords, and it was not till June, 1832. that the great Reform Bill (the third introduced within twelve months) became the law of the land. Lord John, who had been admitted to the Cabinet in 1831 during Lord Grey's Government, became Home Secretary in Lord Melbourne's Government in 1835, and in 1839 he was appointed Colonial Secretary, which office he held at the time of his second marriage. Up to this point we have only followed his career at a distance, but now through the letters and diaries of his wife we shall be enabled to follow it more intimately to the end.