poetry, it was because those painters, who now delight us by the beauty, purity, and simplicity of their works, were not brought to his notice. They were ignored by guides and guidebooks, upon whose information a traveller had in those days almost necessarily to rely. But he later became alive to the merits of those great painters, whose works were more calculated to appeal to his imagination, than the cold and academical, although skilful productions, of the Italian masters of the 17th century. It was this love of art and a just estimate of its value and influence, not only upon the taste but upon the material interests of the nation in improving its manufactures and thereby promoting its trade, and thus adding to the national wealth, which made him, when Chancellor of the Exchequer, and afterwards as Prime Minister, give so liberal an encouragement to the fine arts, and never hesitate to sanction any expenditure for the purchase of pictures or objects of antiquity which might enrich, or add to the completeness of, our National collections. When he was applied to for public funds to enable the Trustees of the British Museum to buy the famous Blacas collection, he did not hesitate to sanction its unconditional purchase. The late Director of the National Gallery, Sir William Boxall, when about to leave England for Madrid, with the object of seeing the altar-piece known as the Colonna Raphael,' which had been offered by its owner, the Duke of Ripalda, to the Trustees of that Institution, waited upon Mr. Disraeli, then Chancellor of the Exchequer, to submit to him the desirability of acquiring it for the nation, should it prove on examination worthy of the Gallery. Mr. Disraeli at once acquiesced. 'But sir,' observed Sir William, a very large sum indeed will be expected for it'; a million of francs, if not more, were, we believe, asked. 'Never you mind,' was the reply, 'you buy the picture and I'll find the money.' We are glad to record these liberal and statesmanlike views with regard to art and our national collections, when somewhat different views appear to prevail amongst our present rulers. As he early sought to cultivate his artistic faculties, so he recognized the necessity of athletic exercise for the development of his physical powers. The earliest recollection of the writer of this article of Lord Beaconsfield is connected with a visit, to which he was taken when quite a child, to Mrs. d'Israeli -his mother. Ben' was sent for, and appeared in his shirtsleeves, with boxing-gloves, having been interrupted in the middle of a lesson from a professor of the noble art. In his youth he was a constant rider. He used to say, that some of his best best thoughts and ideas came to him when scouring the country mounted on a good horse. His father considering it desirable that he should enter a profession, and not be dependent upon literature, the law was chosen for him, and he was placed in the house of Messrs. Swaine & Stevenson, respectable solicitors in the City. Whether he was actually articled to them is doubtful. But to a youth of his temperament and imagination, the studies and drudgery, which were then required to qualify a man for this branch of the law, must have been utterly repugnant. It is not surprising that, to the great disappointment and regret of his father, he neglected the work required of him, and soon renounced the idea of becoming a solicitor. The dry, technical books on law, which he was expected to master, were abandoned for the more congenial volumes which were on the shelves of Isaac d'Israeli's library. He was an omnivorous and desultory reader, confining himself to no special branch of literature, but placing himself to a certain extent under the guidance of his father. This love of reading, coupled with a singularly retentive memory, will account for the remarkable knowledge of books and men shown in his earliest productions, written when he had scarcely reached manhood. In this respect he resembled his father, who is said to have begun his Curiosities of Literature' before he was twenty-four years of age. Isaac d'Israeli had removed with his family, in 1827, to Bloomsbury Square,* a locality then inhabited by many of the most distinguished members of the legal profession, judges and others, who have since migrated to the more fashionable regions of the West End.' In the immediate neighbourhood resided Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin Austen, who lived in intimate social relations with the d'Israelis. Mr. Austen was a solicitor of extensive practice, who enjoyed a high reputation in his profession for probity and trustworthiness.† Mrs. Austen was so remarkable a woman, and exercised so much influence on the development of young Disraeli's character and genius, that she deserves more than a casual mention. She was the daughter of a gentleman of the name of Rickett, who resided at Oundle, in Northamptonshire. He was descended from a good old English family, and was a man of literary and scientific tastes. In youth she was endowed with no ordinary beauty. She was highly accomplished, a proficient in music, an amateur artist of no common skill, possessed great conversational powers, and had a rare command of her pen. Disraeli wrote of it: 'the com * The house which he inhabited was one at the corner of Hart Street. prehensive prehensive circuit of your lively pen;' and in one of his many letters to her says: 'you appear to be the only person in the world, except myself, who have any energy; what would I give to have you always at my right hand!' She had gathered round her a circle of men of letters and artists, including some of the foremost authors and painters of the day, with many of whom she maintained a correspondence. It was a proof of her sagacity that she at once recognized the genius of Benjamin Disraeli, and encouraged him in his literary ambition. A woman of her attractions and intellect could not fail to exercise a considerable influence over a young man of his character and temperament. He confided to her the secret that he was writing a novel; consulted her during its progress; received from her much valuable advice; and ultimately placed the MS. of Vivian Grey' in her hands to arrange for its publication. It was accepted by the well-known publisher of such works, Colburn. The proofs were regularly sent to Mrs. Austen, who superintended the book in its passage through the press. * She had rendered similar services to Plumer Ward, whose novels 'Tremaine' and 'De Vere,' published anonymously, had excited the liveliest interest, and great public curiosity as to their author.† Later on, when struggling with pecuniary difficulties which caused him serious anxiety and embarrassment, Disraeli received from Mr. Austen the most generous assistance; and to the timely aid thus afforded him, as he frequently averred, he owed much of his success in life. As the work of a youth who had only just attained his twentyfirst year, Vivian Grey' was an extraordinary production, and gave unquestionable proofs of genius. The picturesqueness of its descriptions, the audacious pungency of its political sketches, the novel views, political and social, of its author, its brilliant dialogue, and its keen and polished satire, were more than sufficient to account for the popularity which it at once obtained. The knowledge of men and manners which it displays, although in many respects crude and inaccurate, is certainly wonderful, as the young author had at that time no personal acquaintance *The MS. of Vivian Grey,' and that of Captain Popanilla,' Disraeli's second work, were found among Mrs. Austen's papers on her death, which took place in June last, when she had reached the advanced age of ninety-two years. It was even believed by her friends that she had had a share in the composition of Vivian Grey.' † See Memoir of R. Plumer Ward,' by the Hon. E. Phipps, vol. ii. chap. iv. Benjamin Disraeli was greatly interested in Tremaine,' which doubtless had no inconsiderable influence upon his earliest works. Plumer Ward was evidently under the impression, that Mrs. Austen had assisted Disraeli in writing Vivian Grey.' In a letter to her, criticizing the book, he speaks of the authors.'Ibid. vol. ii. p. 147. with the society which he describes, and what he knew of statesmen, statecraft, and politicians could only have been acquired from books and hearsay, and perhaps from a short residence in Germany with his friend, Mr. William Meredith, before the novel was written. The fashionable world, of which he attempts a picture, was not then open to him; and his experience of life and manners must have been confined to his family circle, and to that of the Austens and of the late Mr. Murray of Albemarle Street-with whom he was on terms of the most intimate friendship-in which, although he met many eminent literary men, he was not likely to learn much of the language and habits of May Fair.' 'Vivian Grey' has taken a place in our national literature, and may still be read with amusement, if not profit, and with the interest that it naturally excites as being the first recognized work of one of the most extraordinary men that our age has produced. It has been so often dissected and criticized, that we have no intention to discuss its literary merits. It is most deserving of notice, on account of the curious insight it affords into the character and motives of its author, and the confident prescience it shows of what he himself was to do and to be. Even so early in life he had apparently sketched out in his own mind his future career, and had almost foreseen his future greatness, choosing for the title of one of his personages that which he himself afterwards bore. We doubt whether biographical history furnishes a more remarkable instance of schemes of ambition so early and so deliberately formed, and so perseveringly and successfully developed. 6 Before Vivian Grey' was written, or probably while being written, the young author was trying his pen on anonymous contributions to the press. Although in after life he disclaimed having had anything to do with the 'Representative' -a daily newspaper published by Mr. Murray, who was one of the first to recognize his talents-we have reason to believe that he did take no inconsiderable part in suggesting to Mr. Murray this untoward speculation. It proved a failure, and had but a short existence. He was also the principal contributor to the 'Star Chamber,' an equally ephemeral weekly sheet, and was the author of the Dunciad of To-day,' a mock-heroic poem, which appeared in it, and was left unfinished when that shortlived periodical came to an end. · The mental labour and excitement he had undergone in writing and publishing Vivian Grey,' and probably anxiety caused by the failure of the 'Representative' and 'Star Chamber,' so seriously affected his health, that his medical advisers insisted upon the absolute necessity of abstinence from all literary literary work, and of change of scene. His tried friends, Mr. and Mrs. Austen, came at once to his help. They proposed that he should occupy a seat in their travelling carriage in a tour through France and Italy. He accepted the offer in a bantering letter: 'As the man says who is going to be hired,' he wrote, ""I think the sitiation will suit." It ill befits any man to dilate upon his own excellence, but I may perhaps be allowed to observe that my various, not to say innumerable, accomplishments are not altogether unknown to you; and as for my moral capacities, why, I have a good character from my last place, which I left on account of the disappearance of the silver spoons. I defy also any ono to declare that I am not sober and honest, except when I am entrusted with the key of the wine cellar, when I must candidly confess I have an ugly habit of stealing the claret, getting drunk, and kissing the maids. Nevertheless, I have no doubt that we shall agree very well. You certainly could not come to any person better fitted for ordering a dinner; and as to casting up accounts, if there is anything in the world which I excel in, that's the very one, and as I've got the habit of never attending to the shillings and pence because they make my head ache, I generally detect the Aubergiste in a super-charge.' The travellers left England on the 4th of August, 1826, crossing from Dover to Boulogne. We have before us Mrs. Austen's Journal kept during their tour. They spent five days at Paris; posted through France by the route usually pursued in those days, and arrived at Geneva on the 18th. The only noteworthy record of Disraeli during this portion of their expedition was his appreciation of a good French dinner, and his love of Burgundy, of which he liberally partook. His preference of this wine over all others remained to him, we believe, through life. He would say, jokingly, that it required a bottle of Burgundy-rich and red Tonnerre' was his favourite-to make him talk and speak his best. Reminiscences of Byron were still fresh at Geneva, and anecdotes of his eccentricities, true or false, were in many mouths. Disraeli passed the greater part of his time when there, indolently reclining in a boat, gazing on the beautiful scenery of the lake, and listening to stories of the poet from the boatman who had served him: how that Byron never exchanged a word with him when they were together on the water, but sat gloomily and silent, with a loaded pistol on each side of him; how, after being rowed in tempestuous weather to the Castle of Chillon, when the waves were so menacing that he stripped himself to the skin in order to swim for his life, in the very probable event of the boat foundering, he descended into Bonivard's |