BEACONSFIELD'S FATHER.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1443, 18 May 1912, Page 9

BEACONSFIELD'S FATHER.

With the blessing of inherited wealth makiu" his ideal life passible, tho usual struggles of rising authors never disciplined hi in; moreover, he wrote with innate ease and grace, needing not to coax a coy muse. Ho belonged to few club' cared nothing for business and probably (lid not even know his son's partv politics. Always lax in religious observances, ho at length drifted away from the Synagogue nt i s c '"' (,ren wore n'l baptised into tho Church of England. They wrote their name Disraeli, dropping the ancient spelling with its reference to the God of Israel protecting the Children of Israel. Moving from the London homo marked to-day by a tablet recording tho birth of his state.smau-son, D'lsracli found a shelter for his books at Bradenham House, Buckinghamshire, tho historic county of Hampden and I'ye, Penn and Brav, associations most interesting to this lover of tilings past. But rural pleasures appealed httla to him; days and nights alike were spent in his library. Benjamin, on tho contrary, loved especially the famous yewtroo walk near tho house, pacing to'and fro there while composing "Sybil. Later ho moved to Hughenden Manor, a pleasant walk across the commons connecting tho two homos. At tho present timo Hughenden is the residence of Coningsby Disraeli, lsanc's grandson, and nephew of tho creator of "Coningsby." Contemporary artists portrayed D'lsraeli in slippered ease before his fire, books upon books around, his scholarly head crowned with flowing locks, brown eyes behind the heavy-rimmed spectacles. Thoso eyes, remarkably lustrous, his son records, failed utterly after years of patient searching of faded diaries and manuscripts, and total blindness shadowed his last years. His daughter, Sarah, was his faithful secretary. Lord Beaconsfiold's letters aro full of tenderly playful allusions to the quiet little father; as he travels abroad 110 reports proudly his father's literary renown in far distant places.

111 his peaceful retreat the old hookworm seemed even at eighty-two likely to live many years more, but an epidemic proved fatal within a few hours; he passed away in January, 18-18, and was laid to rest in the village church of Bradenham. A tail monument was erected at near-by Hughenden by D'lsreli's daughter-in-law, Viscountess Beaconsfiold. D'lsraeli's son wrote of hiui that, owiii" partly to his.sheltered life and partly to great natural sweetness, his soul was stained by no evil act, almost by no evil thought. Another happy phrase by Lord Beaconsfield is a perfect description of his life-work: "He made belles-lettres charming to the multitude."—" Tha Bellman."