The Life of the Rt. Hon. Sir Charles W. Dilke, Volume 2Gwynn, Stephen Lucius
History
The Life of the Rt. Hon. Sir Charles W. Dilke, Volume 2
Gwynn, Stephen Lucius
Dilke, Charles Wentworth, Sir, 1843-1911; Great Britain -- Politics and government -- 19th century
These two country homes, Pyrford and Dockett, held Sir Charles so fast
with their simple pleasures that the once insatiable traveller ceased to
roam. At the close of 1892, after his return to Parliament, he sold his
house and garden at Toulon. Pyrford to a great extent had come to take
its place. But to the end of his days he was a constant visitor to that
Provençal country which he loved. Apart from them there was another
place where, though he neither owned nor rented house or land, he was no
less at home than among his willows or his pines. No resident in the
Forest of Dean was better known in it than its member, and nowhere had
Sir Charles more real friends. For many years he spent three periods
among them: his Whitsun holiday, which was very much a visit of
pleasure; a visit in autumn, when he attended all meetings of the
Revision Courts; and finally a month in the dead of winter, when he went
round to meetings in each polling district, at night educating his
electors in the political questions of the time, and in the day working
with his local friends at the register till it became the most accurate
record of its kind in all Great Britain--so perfect, indeed, that he was
at last able to discontinue his attendance at the Revision Courts,
though never relaxing his keen personal interest in every change.
His friendships in the Forest were not bounded by class or party. He had
the support, not merely of the Liberal and Labour groups, but of many
strong Conservatives, here as before at Chelsea. Mention has been made
of Mr. Blake, and another friend was Mr. John Probyn, who had stood as a
Liberal candidate for Devizes as far back as 1868, and had not changed
his views. Of his many faithful friends and supporters, one, the
honorary secretary of the Liberal Association for all Sir Charles's
years of membership, had as far back as 1886 proclaimed his faith in
him. [Footnote: Mr. John Cooksey, formerly proprietor of the _Dean
Forest Mercury_.] Another equally active in conveying the original
invitation to Sir Charles was the agent of the Forest miners, a Labour
leader of the wisest type, [Footnote: Mr. G. H. Rowlinson.] who writes:
'He did not live for himself; it was always others first. I never
made an appeal to him for any case of need in vain. With regard to
local matters, he seemed at the beck and call of nearly everyone.
Nothing was too small or too large for him to undertake to assist
any constituent, and oftentimes an avowed and lifelong political
opponent. In a multitude of ways he did us service with his
knowledge of affairs, his influence, his experience, his ability and
work.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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