Eighty Club Banquet July 11th 1884 Speech By Mr Gladstone And List Of Those Present

If he had been pressed, Macaulay would probably have admitted that there are cases in which human acts and impulses to act occur independently of any idea of an end to be gained by them. If I have a piece of grit in my eye and ask some one to take it out with the corner of his handkerchief, I generally close the eye as soon as the handkerchief comes near, and always feel a strong impulse to do so. Nobody supposes that I close my eye because, after due consideration, I think it my interest to do so.

First published in 1903, this authorised biography of the Liberal Prime Minister Gladstone provides valuable insights into Victorian political life.