STANDING FOR PARLIAMENT 69 



interest in human psychology, but his own 

 sensitiveness made him very averse from the 

 unveiling by another of the soul's secrets to 

 make a public spectacle. I cannot imagine him 

 reading with the smallest interest anything in 

 the nature of a " human document." The 

 scarcely seemly outpourings of a Marie Bash- 

 kirtseff would have left him not only cold, but 

 very strongly repelled. He would have failed 

 to understand how any human creature could 

 so throw back the veil from before secrets of 

 the soul that should be hidden. They would 

 have appeared to him far too sacred for such 

 publication. 



Very much more freely does he reveal himself 

 in his early diaries, which were designed for the 

 perusal of no other eye than his own. But it 

 has not seemed to me that it would be right to 

 make more than the most sparing use of docu- 

 ments so clearly intended to be private. There 

 is one phrase which is very frequent in them, and 

 which is worth noting because it is so expressive 

 of the simple modesty of his nature. Again and 

 again we find it recorded, after reference to a 

 meeting or a conversation with some one whom 

 he had met in society or elsewhere, that he or 

 she, as the case might be, " was very kind." 

 He makes the remark with an unconsciousness, 

 which is very charming, that his own unfailing 

 and wonderful kindness could not but elicit a 

 response of like sort from all with whom he came 

 in contact. He might fairly, one would suppose, 

 have expected at least that reward — that as 

 he was ever kind and courteous to others so 



