INTRODUCTION xiii 



Chairman, has assured me that for keen business 

 acumen and wisdom he never met his chairman's 

 equal. Notably he was a great pacifier. From 

 the chair of a stormy meeting his influence 

 spread as oil on the waves, and his dexterous 

 steering and fine vision for a possible haven 

 that would be welcome to all, has averted many 

 a shipwreck. 



As I have remarked elsewhere, Lord Avebury 

 was not of those who reveal the inner self in- 

 timately in their letters. On the other hand, 

 his correspondence includes a large number of 

 letters on very various subjects, from writers 

 in all parts of the globe. At home he was, of 

 necessity, in touch with the distinguished men 

 of the day in almost all the pursuits which are 

 of import to humanity, and in consequence 

 the interest of the letters which he received is 

 singularly wide and varied. It has been a great 

 difficulty to decide what, where so much seemed 

 worth reproducing, to discard, but I am tolerably 

 confident, at least, of the interest attaching to 

 that which I have been able to retain, and my 

 thanks are due to the writers, and to the legal 

 representatives of the deceased writers, of those 

 letters, to the trustees of Mr. Gladstone, of Mr. 

 Herbert Spencer, and many more, for their kind 

 permission to reproduce them. In the case of 

 some foreign correspondents it has proved im- 

 possible, in spite of all reasonable enquiry, to 

 discover their addresses or their living representa- 

 tives, and for the insertion, without permission, 

 of their letters, I have to make apology and to 

 ask pardon. My debt to Lady Avebury and to 



