LORD MACAULAY AS A DINER-OUT.

Waikato Times, Volume XXVII, Issue 2221, 2 October 1886, Page 1 (Supplement)

LORD MACAULAY AS A DINER-OUT.

Loud Macvulay, scholar, essiyist, historian, poet, and politician, held a prominent place among the biilli.mt dinernouL who adorned the first half of the century ; he w.is, indeed, one of the greatest talkers of his time. Even in childhood he possessed wonderful command of lansruige, and expressed himself with ease and precision. For him toys had no charms whatever. From the time that he was thrro years old, raiding and talking were hi* favourito occupations. Ho used to tell long stories of his own invention, or repeat what ho had been reading; talking, as a servant said, " quite printed words." An incident which occurred when he was four years of age, shows the Rtraniro maturity of his mode of speaking. While he was on a visit to a friend of his father, a servant spilt some hot coffee upon his legs. Some time* after, the hostess asked him how ho felt, and he replied, " Thank you, madam, the agony is abated." Two other incidents of his early liff> illustrate the droll effects produced by leading literature beyond his years. On ono occasion Mrs Hannah More called at Mr Maeaulay'.s and was received at the fiont door by the son, then four years old, who told her " than his parents wero out, but that if she would be good enough to come in he would bring her a glas^s of old apitits ;* a proposition which greatly startled the good lady, who had never aspired beyond cow-lip wine. When questioned as to what he know about spirits, ho could only say tll.it " Robinson Crusoe often had .some." A train, he had a little plot of ground at the back of the house marked out as I/is own by a row of oyst»r shflK 'vluch .1 maid one day threw away as rubbish. 11> went straight to (ho drawing room, where Mn mother was onto: laming some, visitors, walked into the c ii do, and .said solemnly, "Curbed bo Sally, foy it in wiitton, 4 Cur-cd ii h» thitr, rrmoveth his neighbor's landmirk.'" After his first pir.it speech in I'aiKament, Macxuliy hoc imr> one of the horn of sot ii'ty. Ho was welcomed by ail tho most distinguished (oteries of the day, fashionable, political, and literary. All the privileges and pleasures which were thus placed within his reach he enjoyj d j with t !i e utm >st heartiness, yt without I undue elation or pride. During three: seasons he dined out every nij^ht. Society, however, did not monopolise "M icaulay'.s powers of entertaining. His sifter, Lidy Trevelyan, s[>paking of their home-life at this time, writes: — *'In the afternoon he always took my sister M'irgarpt and myself a Ions; walk. We tr.iver-ol every part, of the city, Islington, Clerkenwell, and the parks, leturrnny ju-t in time fo- a mx o\ ln,;k dinner. What anecdotes he used to pour out ibout every stieet, and squirt. 1 , and court, and alley! There are many pi ices I never pi-s without 'the tender grace of a day that is dead,' coming 1 back to me. Then, after dinner, he always walked up and down the drawing-room between us, chatting till tea-time. Our rua-iy mirth, his wretched puns, j-o many a minute, so many an hour! Truly he was to old and younc" alike tho sunshine of our home ; and I believe that no one who did not know him theic ever knew him in his most, brilliai.t, witty, unl fertile vein." He did not pi iy upon words as a h'tbit, s ivs Mr Trevelyin, "nor did he interlard hi* ta«k with f irfetch.ed or over-^tr lined witticisms. His humour, like hi 1 ? ihetoric,jwas full of force nnd substance, and arose naturally from the complexion of the c mversatioii or the ciicumstHNC^a <>f tho moment. When walking in London he would undertime to give some d r oll turn to the name of every shopkeeper iv tli3 stieet, and, when travelling, to the name of evety trition !ilor.<r the lino; at home he wo ald 1 tin through the countries of Euiqwp, the States of the Union, the chief cirie-i of oar Indian Empire, the piovinees or Fr-m<e, the Prime Ministers of England, or the chief writers and artists ot' .hit given centurj'. striking otf nuns, ud'nu.ible, endurable, and exe< ribl.>, but all irresistibly liughahle. which followed eich other in showers like sparks from flint." He once laid a wnsror in books that ho could make two hundred puns in one evening, and netually performed this f ( >at in the marvellously *hort tune of two hours. The attitude of M icaulay when conversinjr ii v s thus described in his life. "Whatever fault might be found with his gestures as an orator, his tipnenranco and hearing 1 iv jonvors ifion were s'n_,nil.irly effective. Sit'iiiir holt upright, his hands resting on the arms or his chair, or folded over the li'indle of his walking .stick — kniftiiur his ■;>< it < yebrows if th° .subject was one which had to be thought out as he went along, or brightening fiom the forehead downwards when ?i burst of humour was eeminir, his massive features aud honest glance suited well %\ith the manly, si;: u i oils sentiments which he s"t f-nth in his pletsant, sonorous voie \ and in his < u-y and admii.ibly intclliirilile l.tiiirn i'jr»> T<» lift at his nif murjr ueople hid never Iho need to think t\\t<e, and rhi 1 }- certainly had seldom the time. And with all his ardour, and all his strength and cienry of comictior}, he was so tmlv considerate towards otheis —so deli^ itely courteous, with the eouttesy which is of the essence and not only in the manner ! However eairer had been tho debate, and however prolonged the sitting, no omr in the company ever had peison il reasons for wishing a word of his unsaid or a look or a tone ree illfd." Nevertheless, as a conversationalist Macaulay did not meet with approval from all men. He seems, like Coleridge, to hays preferred monologue to dialogue Those who were content to listen h\d nothing but prui.se to bestow ; but society at rhat time abounded in great talkers; suxl a great talker natui.illr makes a \mv poor listener. In one of his lette: .. Sydney Smith, who himself liked a 1 n'i,-.' ><haie of couversition, thus wuteaof his nvil Mac mlay : — He i- c<ttiinly mine airueible since bi> reMtui fiorn Imii i. His ennnie- jnurhc, perhaps, have said hcfoie (thoutrh I never did so) that he talked lather too much ; but now he has occasional flames of silence that make his conversation leally delightful, 1 ' If, however, Sydney tSuutli never .»aid t!n.t Macaulay t.ilkud too much, it is evident that he often thought so, and this feehmr appexrfl to have been shared by other eminent men of tho time. One who was more willing to listen than the witty Canon lias thus iccorded his impiessions of Maoaulay in society : — "In conversation a comninnilm^ \oice, high annn il spirits, unn\ allod quickntss of apprt-hensiuu, a llow ot la.iL'ua^c 1 as rapid as inexhaustible, ;ra\e him pe;ha])3 a laiger share which few were not delighted to yield up to him. His tho'i^hts were like Hqhthin<», and clothed themselves at once in words. While oihei men were thinking what they should say and how they should say it, Mac inlay had said it .ill and a irood deal moic. And the stories which his memory had at instantaneous command — a wide ranje .u (ricek and Litiu history and hteiaturo, English, French, Italian, or Gel man lie had not lull a stock, hut ho knew tho best woiks of the be.>t auth'<t c . Dutch h' 1 leaniCAl for the p.npose of his history. With these cune ant'cilor.* ., touches of ch.uacter, drollery, f.,n, e\c Ilcntbtones excellently tf)hl. The hearer otten lotigtnl for Maeaniij'* m< nory to cairy oft what he heaul in n sniL'ie mom ing, m au after-dinner colloquy, or in few hours in a country house.