Mr. Disraeli's reply was remarkable chiefly for his snub to
Sir W. Stirling-Maxwell, who had introduced the hostile element into the discussion of the Address, "probably. without con- sultation with anybody ;" and for his remark on the silence of the Liberal Members in relation to the Dissolution :—" They were silent, and I must confess I admire their taste and feeling. If I had been a follower of a chief so eminent, even if I thought he had erred, I should have been disposed rather to exhibit sympathy than to offer mere criticism. I should remember the great vic- tories which he fought and won ; 'I should remember his illus- trious career, its continuous success and splendour, not its acci- dental and even disastrous mistakes." That was really said in "the grand style," as Mr. Arnold calls the style suitable to a certain true magnificence of mood. Indeed, neither Mr. Disraeli nor his great opponent ever expressed himself better on a point of some delicacy than in Thursday's debate.
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