“Gladstone is by far the first living intellectual power on that
side. He has left his schoolmasters far behind him, but we must
not wonder if he still walks in their trammels; his genius will
soon free itself entirely, and fly towards heaven with its own
wings.... I wonder Gladstone should not have the feeling of moving
on an _inclined plane_, or that of sitting down among ruins, as if
he were settled in a well-stored house.”