Portrait of Lord Acton
LETTERS OF
LORD ACTON
TO MARY, DAUGHTER OF
THE RIGHT HON. W. E. GLADSTONE
EDITED, WITH AN INTRODUCTORY MEMOIR, BY
HERBERT PAUL
LONDON
GEORGE ALLEN, 156, CHARING CROSS ROAD
1904
[All rights reserved]
COPYRIGHT IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA BY
THE MACMILLAN COMPANY, 1904
Printed by BALLANTYNE, HANSON & Co.
At the Ballantyne Press
"Through such souls alone
God stooping shows sufficient of His Light
For us i' the dark to rise by."
THIS VOLUME
IS DEDICATED TO
LADY ACTON
BY M. D.
CONTENTS
PAGEDEDICATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iiiPREFACE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . viiEDITOR'S PREFACE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ixINTRODUCTORY MEMOIR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xiLETTERS OF LORD ACTON . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1INDEX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221
ILLUSTRATIONS
PORTRAIT OF LORD ACTON (Photogravure) . . . . . . Frontispiece
GROUP AT TEGERNSEE, 1879 (Photogravure) . . . . to face page 1
PREFACE
It does not seem likely that any one, after reading these letters,would question the desirability of their publication. In general theyspeak for themselves; a few notes have been added to explain allusionswhich by lapse of time have become obscure; some names and passages,and some letters, have been omitted. After 1885 Lord Acton touchedupon questions which are still matters of controversy, and thereforethe selection closes with that year. The letters were written to thedaughter who lived with Mr. Gladstone from the time of her own birth,in the middle of the last century, to the day of his death, at itsclose. The idea of publishing a selection of them arose in 1898; andLord Acton, with certain reservations, assented to it. But it was feltby competent judges that it would be trespassing in Mr. Morley'sdomain; and Mr. Morley himself was strongly of opinion that themutilation which at that period would have been necessary, wouldseriously impai