"
The _Daily News_ says: "One of his most characteristics qualities was
his personal humility. This cannot be explained without the key, for Mr.
Gladstone did not in the ordinary meaning of the word, underrate
himself. He was not easy to persuade. He paid little attention to other
people's opinions when his mind was made up. He was quite aware of his
own ascendency in counsel and his supremacy in debate. The secret of his
humility was an abiding sense that these things were of no importance
compared with the relations between God's creatures and their Creator,
Mr. Gladstone once said with characteristic candour that he had a
vulnerable temper. He was quickly moved to indignation by whatever he
thought injurious either to himself or to others, and was incapable of
concealing his emotions, for, if he said nothing, his countenance showed
what he felt. More expressive features were never given to man.
"Mr. Gladstone's exquisite courtesy, which in and out of Parliament was
the model for all, proceeded from the same source. It was essentially
Christian. Moreover, nobody laughed more heartily over an anecdote that
was really good. He was many men in one; but he impressed all alike with
the essential greatness of his character.
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