It was not that he had the slightest tincture in him of philosophical radicalism; he had no philosophical tinctures of any kind; he was quite content to be inconsistent--to be a Conservative at home and a Liberal abroad.

There were very good reasons for keeping the Irish in their places; but what had that to do with it?
The point was this--when any decent man read an account of the political prisons in Naples his gorge rose.

He did not want war; but he saw that without war a skilful and determined use of England's power might do much to further the cause of the Liberals in Europe.

It was a difficult and a hazardous game to play, but he set about playing it with delighted alacrity.

And then, to his intense annoyance, just as he needed all his nerve and all possible freedom of action, he found himself being hampered and distracted at every turn by...