Lord Spencer's Mastership. 193 



So much for the seamy side of the spirit of ^' thorough- 

 ness^' which leaves no stone uiiturned to produce a desired 

 result. It will not be denied by any one conversant with 

 the habits and practice of Lord Spencer here being 

 referred to, that " duty/^ the second on the list of attri- 

 butes most justly apportioned to him in the commencing 

 lines of this memoir, has ever been the guiding star of 

 his life, and of his actions. To no one has it come more 

 home that property has its duties as well as its privileges 

 and it is asserted without fear of contradiction that no 

 pubUc man, statesman or otherwise, has more consistently 

 acted upon this principle. Many a day^s hunting has 

 been sacrificed to the performance of some insignificant 

 magisterial duty : many a horse posted in some likely 

 spot, on the chance, after work was over, of coming in 

 for the residuum of a run. But the spirits of ^^ thorough- 

 ness " and " duty,'^ conspicuous as they be as motive 

 principles in the character of one of Ireland's most famous 

 Lord-Lieutenants, scarcely hold their own with the third- 

 named influence, ^' justice.'^ Whether it be in governing 

 a people, or in weighing the conduct, or deciding upon the 

 treatment of an individual, the one and only goal arrived 

 at by the representative of the great house of Spencer is 

 ■' Justice.''^ With that for a weapon, he believes that all 

 the rugged places will be made smooth, and all difiiculties 

 overcome. 



The following letter, written in the winter of December, 

 1869, is peculiarly interesting at the present time — the 

 summer of 1886: ''We are comparatively quiet just 

 now. Irish affairs are undergoing a crisis, as must 

 always be the case where great changes are taking place. 

 They who are benefited are too accustomed to their old 







