Produced by Al Haines [Frontispiece: Portrait of Lord Acton] LETTERS OF LORD ACTON TO MARY, DAUGHTER OF THE RIGHT HON. W. E. GLADSTONE EDITED, WITH AN INTRODUCTORY MEMOIR, BY HERBERT PAUL LONDON GEORGE ALLEN, 156, CHARING CROSS ROAD 1904 [All rights reserved] COPYRIGHT IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA BY THE MACMILLAN COMPANY, 1904 Printed by BALLANTYNE, HANSON & Co. At the Ballantyne Press {iii} "_Through such souls alone God stooping shows sufficient of His Light For us i' the dark to rise by._" THIS VOLUME IS DEDICATED TO LADY ACTON BY M. D. {v} CONTENTS PAGE DEDICATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iii PREFACE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii EDITOR'S PREFACE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ix INTRODUCTORY MEMOIR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xi LETTERS OF LORD ACTON . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 INDEX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221 ILLUSTRATIONS PORTRAIT OF LORD ACTON (Photogravure) . . . . . . . _Frontispiece_ GROUP AT TEGERNSEE, 1879 (Photogravure) . . . . . _to face page_ 1 {vii} PREFACE It does not seem likely that any one, after reading these letters, would question the desirability of their publication. In general they speak for themselves; a few notes have been added to explain allusions which by lapse of time have become obscure; some names and passages, and some letters, have been omitted. After 1885 Lord Acton touched upon questions which are still matters of controversy, and therefore the selection closes with that year. The letters were written to the daughter who lived with Mr. Gladstone from the time of her own birth, in the middle of the last century, to the day of his death, at its close. The idea of publishing a selection of them arose in 1898; and Lord Acton, with certain reservations, assented to it. But it was felt by competent judges that it would be trespassing in Mr. Morley's domain; and Mr. Morley himself was strongly of opinion that the mutilation which at that period would have been necessary, would seriously impair the interest and the significance of the book. So, for the time, the project was abandoned. On the other hand, in the judgment of the eminent authorities to whom the letters were submitted, their value was of such a nature that it was evident they ought to be published as soon as Mr. Morley should have completed his task.