In Southey's "Peninsular War," this sentence referring to the great duke occurs: "His campaigns were sanctified by the cause; they were sullied by no cruelties, no crimes; the chariot wheels of his triumphs have been followed by no curses; his laurels are entwined with the amaranths of righteousness, and upon his deathbed he might remember his victories among his great works." {404}The funeral was grand and imposing, and beneath the dome of the Metropolitan Cathedral the remains of England's greatest military hero were laid beside those of Nelson, her greatest naval hero. "We have buried in our greatest general," said Lord Derby, in the House of Lords next day, "the man among us who had the greatest horror of war." After a short sojourn at Balmoral the court returned to Windsor, and as soon as parliament was opened repaired to Osborne, when her majesty was soon called upon to make another change in her ministry. Mr. Disraeli occupied the attention of the house for more than five hours with a speech regarding the reduction of certain taxes and the increase of others. He spoke ably, and made a strong impression; but a still stronger one was made by Mr. Gladstone in opposition. It was four long nights before the debate concluded, and it resulted in the resignation of the ministry, which was formally tendered to the queen the next morning. From that period Disraeli and Gladstone were rivals in power and opponents in parliament for more than twenty years. The queen now felt the necessity for the formation of a powerful administration, and for that purpose she called on Lord Aberdeen, who became prime minister. Lord John Russell took the foreign office, Lord Palmerston became home secretary, and Mr. Gladstone chancellor of the exchequer. This was a powerful organization; but the man who attracted the most attention was Mr. Gladstone, then forty-three years of age. He had entered public life at a very early age, and had often distinguished himself as a debater. He was born in Liverpool, and his father was a Scotchman. He was a free-trader, and as such early attached himself to Peel. The speech which he made just after the formation of the new ministry lasted several {405} [Illustration: 0411] {407}hours; but it was so fine that his hearers were charmed, and nobody wished it to come to an end. His voice was remarkably clear and resonant, and he had the rare gift of being able to argue, with all the fluency for which he was noted, without the slightest preparation. He would start to his feet at a moment's notice, and pour forth a volume of words effective as they were eloquent. Mr. Gladstone, besides being an orator, was a statesman, a critic, an essayist, a Greek scholar, and a financier.