[Sidenote: The tragedy of politics.]
What a pity it is we can't see some of those great political figures in
the nudity of their souls. They must have many a bitter moment--many an
hour of dark and hopeless depression--probably far more than other men;
for them emphatically life is a conflict and a struggle. And the
conflict and the struggle often kill them long before their time. Was
there ever anything much more tragic than the cry of M. Ferry for "le
grand Repos," as he lay stifling from the weakening heart which the
bullet of a political enemy and the slings and arrows of years of
calumny and persecution had at last broken? To any man with ordinary
sensitiveness of nerves, a political career is a crucifixion--many times
repeated. But Mr. Chamberlain, probably, has not the ordinary
sensitiveness of nerves. Combative, masterful, with narrow and
concentrated purpose, he pursues the game of politics--not without
affliction, but with persistent tenacity and a courage that have rarely
shown any signs of faltering or failing.
All these things must be granted to Mr. Chamberlain; but when I come to
speak of him intellectually, I cannot see anything in him but a very
perky, smart, glib-tongued "drummer," who is able to pick up the crumbs
of knowledge with extraordinary rapidity, and give them forth again
with considerable dexterity.
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