XIV 



illustration, in vigour, fulness, and vivacity of style, he seemed to 

 make an epoch and a revolution in review-writing. Up to this time, 

 with some excellent exceptions, the articles in reviews had confined 

 themselves to notices, more or less excursive, of new books, and to 

 discussions of the political or polemic questions of the day. The 

 article now aspired to be a full dissertation on the history of any great 

 period, on the life of any great man of any time, on the writings, on 

 the influence, on the merits of authors of the highest fame. From a 

 review it became an historical, biographical, philosophical essay. 



This paper was followed by others of equal, some perhaps of 

 superior excellence, each opening a new view into the vast range of 

 the author's reading, showing his boldness and independence of 

 judgement, the wonderful stores of his memory, his prodigality, some- 

 times perhaps uncontrolled, of allusion, illustration, similitude. A 

 young Whig, of high and blameless character, popular with his 

 friends, with the reputation of oratorical power in the Debating 

 Rooms at Cambridge (he delivered one speech in London, we believe, 

 at an Anti-Slavery Meeting, which made some noise), and the ac- 

 knowledged author of such articles in one of the two popular jour- 

 nals of the day, could not but command the attention, and awaken 

 the hopes of his party. If ever there was a nobleman a patron of 

 letters from a deep and genuine and discriminating love of letters, it 

 was Lord Lansdowne. Lord Lansdowne offered a seat in Parliament 

 to the author of the admirable articles in the Edinburgh Review. 

 On the acceptance of this offer there could be no hesitation ; his 

 political opinions were in the strictest unison with Lord Lansdowne' s. 

 Few public men have been so calmly, deliberately true to their first 

 political opinions as Macaulay. Unquestionably, change of political 

 opinions, on full unselfish conviction, according to change of circum- 

 stances, may be the noblest act of moral courage, especially in the face 

 of obloquy and misrepresentation. The best men may become wiser 

 as they grow older. But to this trial Macaulay was never subjected, 

 he was never called upon to this effort of self-sacrifice. He was a libe- 

 ral in the highest and widest sense ; some may think that he carried 

 these views too far, some not far enough. But during life he was un- 

 swerving, without vacillation. The line which he drew between con- 

 stitutional liberty and democracy in his early speeches on Reform 

 and on the Charter, was precisely the same with that which he drew 



