rapid worker. Dumont says of Mirabeau, that till he met that marvelous
man he had no idea of how much could be achieved in a day. "Had I not
lived with him," he says, "I should not know what can be accomplished in
a day, all that can be comprest into an interval of twelve hours. A day
was worth more to him than a week or a month to others." Many men can be
busy for hours with a mighty small product, but with Mr. Gladstone
every minute was fruitful. That, no doubt, was largely due to his
marvelous powers of concentration. When he was staying at Dalmeny in
1879 he kindly consented to sit for his bust. The only difficulty was
that there was no time for sittings. So the sculptor with his clay model
was placed opposite Mr. Gladstone as he worked, and they spent the
mornings together, Mr. Gladstone writing away, and the clay figure of
himself less than a yard off gradually assuming shape and form. Anything
more distracting I can not conceive, but it had no effect on the busy
patient. And now let me make a short digression. I saw recently in your
newspapers that there was some complaint of the manners of the rising
generation in Glasgow. If that be so, they are heedless of Mr.
Gladstone's example. It might be thought that so impetuous a temper as
his might be occasionally rough or abrupt. That was not so. His
exquisite urbanity was one of his most conspicuous graces. I do not now
only allude to that grave, old-world courtesy, which gave so much
distinction to his private life; for his sweetness of manner went far
beyond demeanor. His spoken words, his letters, even when one differed
from him most acutely, were all marked by this special note. He did not
like people to disagree with him, few people do; but, so far as manner
went, it was more pleasant to disagree with Mr. Gladstone than to be in
agreement with some others.

Lastly, I come to his courage--that perhaps was his greatest quality,
for when he gave his heart and reason to a cause, he never counted the