Peel's ministry was not of long duration; and the Tories were certainly guilty of an oversight in forming this ephemeral cabinet, for nothing more deeply injures a party than abortive efforts, or attempts which are not crowned with success. The Duke of Wellington resumed his place in the House of Lords, and spoke with seriousness and moderation upon all the questions of importance that came before them. As I have before observed, strong good sense, and clear reasoning, are the qualities for which he is especially distinguished, and which carry every thing before them. His manner of expressing himself is quiet and serious; and he is always listened to with respect and attention. His private life is essentially military; and at Apsley House he is surrounded by pictures of all his battles, from India to Waterloo. His favourite campaign is that of the Peninsula; and one might say that the recollections of his youth, under the exhilarating sky of the south of Europe, are intermingled with it. The Duke likes the old friends, and the society that reminds him of his military adventures; he is also very intimate with the _corps diplomatique_, and entertains magnificently,--displaying all the splendour of an immense fortune and the grandeur of the English aristocracy. Sometimes he speaks with bitterness of his past popularity contrasted with the feelings evinced towards him in later times; and he has more than once called attention to the windows of his palace, now defended by iron gratings against the violence of the mob, who threw stones against his windows and into his splendidly decorated apartments. "What a contrast!" said he to Pozzo di Borgo, in 1834. "Recollect, my dear friend, my popularity after the battle of Waterloo, and my entry into London in the year 1815; and now see how completely I am out of favour with these people!" The Duke of Wellington likes to be compared to Marlborough and Nelson--the two most illustrious of English heroes; but he avoids all comparison with Napoleon, for their two careers are neither on the same scale nor can be measured by the same proportion.