Gladstone's Eloquence

His persuasivo witchery of eloquence will be poorly understood by generations ;o come, says The Atlantic. It is not tound iu the word, the phrase, the argument or the thought. It came for the most part f rom the spirit that warmed ;he breath of the man, sounded in his voice, looked out of his eyes. It was personal to him, and largely part of the moral qualities that seemed to be his ?reater distinction. No man of his day :as had such power of persuasión as he. '.t may not be too bold to say that no man of any time has surpassed him in hat power. Yet he was never logically strong. His argumentative writings, the most carefully and deliberately com josed, show defects of reasoning that are marked. From controversy with an antagonist like Professor Huxley he was sure to come with wounds. Yet his masterful influence over minds of every class is a certain fact. It was once said jy somebody that "Gladstonecould persuade anybody to anything - himself ncluded, " and the epigram carries nc loubt a significant truth.