His motives were above all suspicion. Warmly attached to his country, earnestly seeking the happiness of his people, he occupied a high position by the force rather of his moral than of his intellectual qualities. He was trusted and respected rather than admired." If we omit the reference to indecision and infirmity of purpose, we may accept the foregoing as being, so far as it goes, a not inaccurate estimate of the character of Mr. Lafontaine. The excepted reference, however, shows how little the writer could really have known of the subject of his remarks. So far from being undecided or infirm of purpose, Mr. Lafontaine was almost domineering and tyrannical in his firmness. He was very reluctant to receive discipline, and was generally disposed to prefer his own judgment to that of any one else. It will be news, indeed, to such of his colleagues as still survive, to learn that Sir Louis Lafontaine was infirm of purpose. Sir Francis Hincks, who is able to speak with high authority on the subject, declares in one of his political pamphlets that he never met a man less open to such an imputation. Other equally trustworthy authorities have borne similar testimony, and indeed the whole course of his political life furnishes a standing refutation to the charge. Sir Louis was intellectually far above most of those with whom he acted, and he was endowed by nature with an imperious will. He brooked contradiction, or even moderate remonstrance, with an ill grace. Had he been of a more conciliating temper he would doubtless have been vastly more popular. His sincerity and uprightness have never, so far as we are aware, been called in question. [Illustration: LOUIS H. LAFONTAINE, signed as L. H. LAFONTAINE]