] of
whose beauty Ruskin had written, and who owned property in my
county.
"Elcho," said he, "always expected to be invited to join the
government, but I said to Dizzy, 'Elcho is an impossible
politician; he has never understood the meaning of party
government and looks upon it as dishonest for even three people to
attempt to modify their opinions sufficiently to come to an
agreement, leave alone a Cabinet! He is an egotist!' To which
Disraeli replied, 'Worse than that! He is an Elchoist!'"
Although Lord Pembroke's views on all subjects were remarkably
wide--as shown by the book he published called Roots--he was a
Conservative. We formed a deep friendship and wrote to one another
till he died a few years after my marriage. In one of his letters
to me he added this postscript:
Keep the outer borders of your heart's sweet garden free from
garish flowers and wild and careless weeds, so that when your
fairy godmother turns the Prince's footsteps your way he may not,
distrusting your nature or his own powers, and only half-guessing
at the treasure within, tear himself reluctantly away, and pass
sadly on, without perhaps your ever knowing that he had been near.
This, I imagine, gave a correct impression of me as I appeared to
some people. "Garish flowers" and "wild and careless weeds"
describe my lack of pruning; but I am glad George Pembroke put
them on the "outer," not the inner, borders of my heart.
In the tenth verse of Curzon's poem, allusion is made to Lady
Pembroke's conversation, which though not consciously pretentious,
provoked considerable merriment.
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