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Show GLADSTONE'S LITTLE JOKE. The Reproduction of an Old Magazine Article Sets the Critics Agog-. Mr. Gladstone has played unconsciously unconscious-ly a capital little joke upon his critics, literary and political, and i3 said to be enjoying it as much as anybody. Fifteen years ago he wrote for a now defunct magazine an article entitled "The Evangelical Evan-gelical Movement; Its Parentage, Progress Prog-ress and Issue. " This was recently unearthed un-earthed by the editor of the present Evangelical Magazine, who, with the author's permission, republished it in the December number. The critics, with one accord, treated the article as new and praised or sneered according to their political beliefs, which is quite a common com-mon way of writing literary criticisms here. The Liberals, of course, found in the artiole proof that Mr. Gladstone's intellect had improved, likf good wine, with age, and the Tories, with equal certainty, detected signs of mental decay. de-cay. The Radicals, too, drew comfort from it as showing that the Grand Old Man iu his retirement was more eager than ever to sever the connection between be-tween church 'and state, while the Whig churchmen discovered in this remarkable article abundant arguments in favor of the maintenance of the union between the state and church. As a matter of fact, the Grand Old Man now writes little, although he ia bombarded with applications from edi-. tors in all parts of the world. He is likely like-ly to write still less for the outside world if it be true, as rumored, that he has commenced dictating his memoirs to his wife. The greater part of every day is still devoted to reading theological theolog-ical works from his already famous library, li-brary, and collectors will learn with interest in-terest that he make3 copious marginal notes upon every book which passes through his hands. Exchange. |
