Lord George Bentinck | Page 2

in the
pastime and fortunes of the turf, in which his whole being seemed
engrossed, and which he pursued on a scale that perhaps has never been
equalled.
Lord George had withdrawn his support from the government of the
Duke of Wellington, when the friends of Mr. Canning quitted that
administration; and when in time they formed not the least considerable
portion of the cabinet of Lord Grey, he resumed his seat on the
ministerial benches. On that occasion an administrative post was
offered him and declined; and on subsequent occasions similar requests
to him to take office were equally in vain. Lord George, therefore, was
an original and hearty supporter of the Reform Bill, and he continued to
uphold the Whigs in all their policy until the secession of Lord Stanley,
between whom and himself there subsisted warm personal as well as
political sympathies. Although he was not only a friend to religious
liberty, as we shall have occasion afterwards to remark, but always
viewed with great sympathy the condition of the Roman Catholic
portion of the Irish population, he shrank from the taint of the
ultra-montane intrigue. Accompanying Lord Stanley, he became in due

time a member of the great Conservative opposition, and, as he never
did anything by halves, became one of the most earnest, as he certainly
was one of the most enlightened, supporters of Sir Robert Peel. His
trust in that minister was indeed absolute, and he has subsequently
stated in conversation that when, towards the end of the session of '45,
a member of the Tory party ventured to predict and denounce the
impending defection of the minister, there was no member of the
Conservative party who more violently condemned the unfounded
attack, or more readily impugned the motives of the assailant.
He was not a very frequent attendant in the House. He might be
counted on for a party division, and when, towards the termination of
the Melbourne ministry, the forces were very nearly balanced, and the
struggle became very close, he might have been observed, on more than
one occasion, entering the House at a late hour, clad in a white
great-coat, which softened, but did not conceal, the scarlet
hunting-coat.
Although he took no part in debate, and attended the House rather as a
club than as a senate, he possessed a great and peculiar influence in it.
He was viewed with interest, and often with extraordinary regard, by
every sporting man in the House. With almost all of these he was
acquainted; some of them, on either side, were his intimate companions
and confederates.
His eager and energetic disposition; his quick perception, clear
judgment, and prompt decision; the tenacity with which he clung to his
opinions; his frankness and love of truth; his daring and speculative
spirit; his lofty bearing, blended as it was with a simplicity of manner
very remarkable; the ardour of his friendships, even the fierceness of
his hates and prejudices--all combined to form one of those strong
characters who, whatever may be their pursuit, must always direct and
lead.
Nature had clothed this vehement spirit with a material form which was
in perfect harmony with its noble and commanding character. He was
tall and remarkable for his presence; his countenance almost a model of
manly beauty; the face oval, the complexion clear and mantling; the

forehead lofty and white; the nose aquiline and delicately moulded; the
upper lip short. But it was in the dark-brown eye, which flashed with
piercing scrutiny, that all the character of the man came forth: a
brilliant glance, not soft, but ardent, acute, imperious, incapable of
deception or of being deceived.
Although he had not much sustained his literary culture, and of late
years, at any rate, had not given his mind to political study, he had in
the course of his life seen and heard a great deal, and with profit.
Nothing escaped his observation; he forgot nothing and always thought.
So it was that on all the great political questions of the day he had
arrived at conclusions which guided him. He always took large views
and had no prejudices about things, whatever he might indulge in as to
persons. He was always singularly anxious to acquire the truth, and
would spare no pains for that purpose; but when once his mind was
made up, it was impossible to influence him.
In politics, he was a Whig of 1688, which became him, modified,
however, by all the experience of the present age. He wished to see our
society founded on a broad basis of civil and religious liberty. He
retained much of the old jealousy of the court, but had none of popular
franchises. He was for the Established Church, but for nothing more,
and was very repugnant to priestly domination.